•  •  How  to  Plan 
the  Home  Grounds* 


S.  PARSONS,  JR. 

\\  J 

Ex-Superintendent  of  Parks,  New  York  City 
Fellow  of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects 


With  Illustrations 

drawn  by  W.  E.  SPADER  under  the  direction  of  the 
author  and  of  G.  F.  PENTECOST,  JR.,  F.A.S.L.A. 


GARDEN  CITY         NEW  YORK 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

1912 


COPYRIGHT,  1899,  BY 
DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 


Go  tbe  flfcemorB  of 
CALVERT  VAUX  AND  WILLIAM  A.  STILES 

WHOSE  WORDS  AND  DEEDS   HAVE  BEEN  THE  CHIEF  INSPIRATION   OP  THIS 

BOOK,   AND   WHOSE   SINGULARLY  FELICITOUS    EXPRESSION   OF   THEIR 

OWN    PERSONAL     FORCE    AND     CHARM    SERVED    EVER    BUT    TO 

EMPHASIZE   THE   FEW,  SIMPLE   UNDERLYING   TRUTHS   UPON 

WHICH    ARE    BASED    ALL    MANIFESTATIONS    OF    THE 

ART    OF     LANDSCAPE     GARDENING,     FROM     THE 

MOST    RESTRICTED    TO     THOSE     OFFERING 

THE    LARGEST    POSSIBILITIES. 


271124 


PREFACE 

THE  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  set  forth  briefly  some 
simple  basic  principles  concerning  the  processes 
whereby  home  grounds  can  be  made  beautiful. 
From  the  beginning  it  will  follow  the  various  stages 
through  which  may  be  gradually  and  naturally  developed 
the  sensible,  which  is  always  the  pleasing  and  attractive, 
dwelling  place ;  for  everything  which  is  done  according 
to  sound  rational  principles  and  common  sense  is  bound 
to  be  agreeable  and  beautiful.  In  as  short  a  fashion  and 
as  clearly  as  lies  in  the  author's  power,  it  will  seek  to  set 
down  the  few  points  which  are  to  be  kept  always  in  mind 
to  properly  work  out  and  accomplish  the  permanently 
satisfactory  result.  To  make  these  points  tangible,  by 
giving  with  the  reason  the  example  which  makes  that 
reason  evident,  the  author  invariably  reverts  to  the  gen- 
eral principles  that  should  never  be  lost  sight,  of  in  the 
selection  and  arrangement  of  the  territory  intended  for 
occupation.  These  principles  apply  invariably  to  the 
small  as  well  as  the  large  places.  The  statement  cannot 
be  made  too  emphatically  at  the  very  outset,  that  it 
is  always  just  as  simple  and  just  as  difficult  to  lay  out 
a  small  yard  25  x  100  feet  as  a  gentleman's  great  country 
place  of  many  acres.  There  may  be  more  details  in  the 


viii  PREFACE 

large  place,  but  the  principles  are  the  same  in  both,  and 
in  the  village  lot  the  dainty  finish  and  the  perfect  propor- 
tion, where  all  things  are  so  evident,  may  be  more  diffi- 
cult to  accomplish  than  the  more  massive  and  less 
emphasized  effects  of  the  regular  country  place. 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  necessity  of  having 
entirely  good  reasons  to  control  the  choice  of  a  place. 
Should  that  be  left  to  unrestrained  fancy  or  whim,  the  re- 
sult is  sure  to  prove  disastrous.  Why  the  house  should 
stand  in  one  place  and  not  in  another,  is  not  and  cannot 
be  a  matter  of  fancy.  Certain  reasons  govern  it.  Many 
points  have  always  to  be  considered.  Everything  is 
interdependent.  There  should  be  a  general  scheme  from 
which  everything  naturally  develops  fn  its  relative  and 
just  order  and  place,  and  the  basis  of  all  design  and  of 
all  arrangements  should  be  the  natural  conformation  and 
incidents  of  the  ground. 

It  will  be  evident  and  natural  that  the  existing  land- 
scape must  control  the  general  design,  but,  of  course, 
never  to  the  point  where  danger  threatens  the  actual 
comfort  of  the  householder  by  shutting  out  sunlight  and 
air,  and  otherwise  making  unhealthy  and  uncomfortable 
conditions,  such  as  low,  damp  ground  and  bleak  exposure, 
for  art  and  beauty  in  such  cases  always  go  hand  in  hand 
with  common  sense  and  reasonable  comfort.  The  ar- 
rangement and  construction  of  roads  and  paths,  whether 
on  large  or  small  places,  will  then  develop  in  a  natural 
fashion  that  will  be  practical  and  agreeable.  Gardens 
will  be  seen  in  their  proper  places  and  performing  their 
true  functions  under  existing  conditions.  In  the  same 
spirit,  the  location  of  ponds  and  streams  and  their  con- 
struction will  be  studied,  as  well  as  the  health  of  wood- 
lands and  the  retention  of  their  most  characteristic 


PREFACE  ix 

beauty.  The  natural  functions  and  adjustment  of  fences, 
bridges,  and  summer-houses  will  also  receive  attention. 

In  no  way  does  the  author  intend  to  advocate  a  special 
style,  whether  Italian,  Colonial,  or  what  not,  but  only 
such  an  arrangement  as  naturally  grows  out  of  the  pecu- 
liar conformation  of  the  ground  under  consideration. 

The  list  of  the  best  trees  and  shrubs,  one  of  the  most 
important  features  of  the  book,  will  be  limited  in  number 
of  kinds  discussed,  because  it  is  desirable  to  give  it  the 
most  general  application  possible,  and  the  consideration 
of  rare  species  will  be  left  out,  as  their  employment 
would  naturally  involve  fancy  expenditure  and  oftentimes 
difficult  and  expensive  care. 

Finally,  in  illustration  of  the  proper  employment  of 
the  principles  set  down  and  the  trees  and  shrubs  dis- 
cussed, practical  diagrams  relating  to  the  arrangement 
of  home  grounds  will  be  given. 

The  latter  part  of  the  book  will  be  occupied  with  a 
brief  consideration  of  Parks,  Cemeteries,  and  Railroad 
Stations,  as  typical  examples  of  the  more  extended  devel- 
opment of  the  principles  on  which  home  grounds  are 
naturally  laid  out. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 
PART  I 

PAGE 

PREFACE vii 

THE  SELECTION  OP  HOME  GROUNDS 1 

THE  SELECTION  OP  THE  SITE  OP  THE  HOUSE    .       .       .       .10 

ROADS  AND  PATHS 18 

LAWNS 45 

FLOWER  GARDENS 53 

THE  TERRACE 70 

PLANTATIONS 79 

DECIDUOUS  TREES 94 

DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS 107 

EVERGREEN  TREES  121 

EVERGREEN  SHRUBS         124 

HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PLANTS 129 

AQUATIC  PLANTS 138 

HARDY  VINES  AND  CLIMBERS 141 

BEDDING  PLANTS     .       .       .       .       .       .       .  *     .       .145 

POOLS  AND  STREAMS 151 

WOODLANDS 159 

THE  USE  OP  ROCKS 165 

RESIDENTIAL  PARKS 174 

FENCES,  BRIDGES,  AND  SUMMER-HOUSES 184 

LIST  OP  PLANTS  FOR  GENERAL  USE  ON  HOME  GROUNDS  .       .  195 

CONTRACTS  AND  SPECIFICATIONS       .       .               ...  204 


xii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PART  II 

FACtl 

PARKS  AND  PARKWAYS 219 

CHURCH-YARDS  AND  CEMETERIES 225 

SEASIDE  LAWNS 229 

CITY  AND  VILLAGE  SQUARES 233 

RAILROAD  STATION  GROUNDS    ...  ,240 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGB 

VILLAGE  LOT  OP  HALF  AN  ACRE,  SHOWING  SUITABLE  LOCATION 

FOR  SMALL  HOUSE 12 

LATTICE  AND  VINE  PROTECTION  FOR  DRYING-GROUND  .  .  13 
CONTOUR  MAP  OF  COUNTRY  PLACE  OF  EIGHT  ACRES,  WITH  STEEP 

CONTOURS 20 

SAME  COUNTRY  PLACE,  SHOWING  ARRANGEMENT  OF  PLANTATIONS, 

ROADS,  AND  PATHS 21 

SECTION  OF  SAME  PLAN  TAKEN  ON  LINE  ACROSS  THE  CENTER  OF 

CIRCLE,  HOUSE,  AND  TERRACE 21 

DOUBLE  ENTRANCE,  WITH  ANTE-PARK 22 

CARRIAGE  TURN  WITH  GRASS  PLOT,  SHOWING  COURSE  PARALLEL 

WITH  HOUSE 23 

BAD  LINE  FOR  A  ROAD  ;  GOOD  LINE  FOR  A  ROAD  ...  24 
BRANCHING  ROADS  IN  LARGE  PLACE,  ENTERING  AT  RIGHT  ANGLES 

TO  HIGHWAY 25 

OPEN  CARRIAGE  TURN  ON  MEDIUM-SIZED  PLACE  .  *  .  .26 

OPEN  CARRIAGE  TURN  FOR  SMALL  PLACE 27 

VILLAGE  LOT,  EIGHT-TENTHS  OF  AN  ACRE,  WITH  OUTBUILDINGS 

AND  STRAIGHT  WALK  SYSTEM 29 

CROSS  SECTION  OF  ROAD  WITH  SOD  GUTTERS  .  .  .  .34 

VILLAGE  Lor,  ONE-HALF  OF  AN  ACRE,  WITH  STRAIGHT  WALKS  .  40 

FORMAL  ENTRANCE  OF  A  LARGE  PLACE 42 

TREATMENT  OF  ENTRANCE  GATE  AND  LODGE  43 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

VILLAGE  LOT,  ONE-THIRD  OP  AN  ACRE,  WITH  OPEN  LAWN,  OVER- 
LOOKING FINE  SOUTHWEST  VIEW 47 

CONTOUR  MAP  OF  SAME  VILLAGE  LOT,  ONE-THIRD  OF  AN  ACRE  .  48 
EXAMPLE  OF  FORMAL  GARDEN,  WITH  GRASS  WALKS  ...  59 
CORNER  OF  A  FORMAL  FLOWER  GARDEN  ...»  60 

SMALL  FLOWER  GARDEN,  NEAR  HOUSE,  WITH  STRAIGHT  BEDS  AND 

GRASS  WALKS 63 

SMALL  FLOWER  GARDEN,  REAR  OF  HOUSE,  WITH  ELLIPTICAL  BEDS 
ARRANGED  WITH  GRAVEL  MAIN  WALKS  AND  SUBSIDIARY 

GRASS  WALKS 65 

FLOWER  GARDEN  WITH  BORDERING  BEDS,  INTERIOR  GRASS  PLOT, 

AND  SHADE  TREES  AT  INTERSECTIONS  OF  GRAVEL  WALKS    .      68 
BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  A  TERRACE  ON  CREST  OF  HILL,  WITH  BACK- 
GROUND OF  WOODS 71 

GROUND  PLAN  OF  SAME  TERRACE 72 

CROSS  SECTION  OF  TERRACE  SHOWN  ON  PAGE  71  ...  75 
PERGOLA  ON  HIGHEST  POINT  OF  SAME  TERRACE  ON  PAGE  71  .  76 
VILLAGE  CORNER  LOT,  FIVE-TWENTY-EIGHTHS  OF  AN  ACRE,  WITH 

BORDERING  SHRUBS  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN          ...      80 
TYPE  OF  TREE  DIMENSION  FOR  ELMS,  MAPLES,  LINDENS,  ORIENTAL 
PLANES,  AND  ASHES,  SUITABLE  FOR  QUICKEST  EFFECT  AND 

HEALTHY  GROWTH 85 

VILLAGE  LOT,  ONE-HALF  AN  ACRE,  LOCATED  ON  STREAM    .       .    155 

SECTION  OF  SAME 155 

SUMMER-HOUSE  ON  WATER 157 

TREATMENT  OF  ROCKS  FOR  STREAM  AND  BRIDGE         .       .       .    167 

BRIDGE  OF  BOULDERS 169 

BRIDGE  OF  BOULDERS,  WITH  ROCK  TREATMENT  OF  STREAM,  IN 

CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK 170 

ROUGH  STONE  WALL  AND  COPING 171 

TREATMENT   OF   STEPS   WITH   ROCKS,   CENTRAL   PARK,   NEW 
YORK 172 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 

PAGE 

ALBEMARLE  PARK,  ASHEVILLE,  N.  C.,  SHOWING  ARRANGEMENT 

OP  ROADS  AND  HOUSE  LOTS 180, 181 

CROSS  SECTION  OP  ALBEMARLE  PARK,  ASHEVILLE,  N.  C.  .  181 

LONGITUDINAL  SECTION  OP  ALBEMARLE  PARK,  ASHEVILLE, 

N.  C 182,183 

HA-HA  FENCE,  FOR  SEPARATING  PLEASURE  GROUNDS  PROM  FARM 

LANDS 186 

IRON  PIPE  AND  ANCHOR-POST  FENCE 187 

SUMMER-HOUSE,  CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK  .  .  .  .189 

SUMMER-HOUSE 190 

SUMMER-HOUSE,  CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK  .  .  .  ,191 
PERGOLA,  OR  OPEN  VINE-COVERED  ARBOR  ....  192 
PLAIN  RUSTIC  BRIDGE  IN  GENTLEMAN'S  COUNTRY  PLACE  .  .  193 
Bow  BRIDGE,  CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK  ....  194 

STONE  BRIDGE  OVER  SMALL  STREAM 194 

RURAL  PARK  OP  MODERATE  DIMENSIONS  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  .  220 
DESIGN  FOR  BAND  STAND  IN  PUBLIC  PARK  ....  222 
SMALL  TRIANGULAR  PARK  IN  CITY  OR  TOWN,  WITH  PLAYGROUND 

AND  WALK  (CANAL  STREET  PARK,  NEW  YORK)  .  .  234 

SMALL  PARK  OF  FOUR  ACRES  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  (MULBERRY 

BEND  PARK,  FIVE  POINTS,  NEW  YORK)  ....  236 
TREATMENT  OP  RAILROAD  STATION  GROUNDS  ,  243 


PAKT  I 

THE  SELECTION   OP  HOME   GROUNDS 

IN  attempting  to  select  home  grounds  suitable  for  the 
requirements  of  a  home,  one  necessarily  commences 
with  some  more  or  less  vague  idea  of  what  the  place 
should  be.  Generally  it  is  a  very  vague  idea,  growing 
out  of  partial  experience  or  hearsay,  or  so-called  personal 
taste.  Personal  taste  is  admirable,  but  only  when  under 
the  discipline  of  full  knowledge  of  the  subject  to  which 
it  is  applied. 

A  dozen  practical  and  important  considerations  may  be 
lost  sight  of,  and  one,  such  as  mere  beauty  of  scenery, 
finally  determines  the  selection  of  the  spot.  It  is  possi- 
ble, however,  to  set  up  some  general  type  or  model,  the 
characteristics  of  which  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  qual- 
ifications to  be  kept  in  view  in  all  selections  of  home 
grounds. 

In  the  first  place,  all  home  grounds,  espe«ially  very 
small  ones,  should  be  comparatively  level.  Considerable 
variety  of  surface  and  a  sky  line  can  be  secured  by 
grading  and  planting  the  lawn,  and  the  long  undulating 
contours  that  can  be  thus  secured  are  more  agreeable 
and  restful  than  the  sudden  curves  of  rugged  country. 
Breadth  and  simplicity  of  treatment  are  invited  by  level 
or  slightly  sloping  land,  and  these  qualities  are  indis- 


!TO;  FLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

pensable  to  the  restful  and  pastoral  effect  which  should 
be  sought  as  essential  to  agreeable  home  grounds. 

The  boundaries  of  home  grounds  or  village  lots  count 
much  in  the  successful  treatment  of  the  territories.  The 
shape  of  the  plot  should  best  be  oblong  or  narrow  on  the 
street,  or  square,  the  latter  form  being  preferable  be- 
cause it  admits  of  more  convenient  arrangement  and 
subdivision.  In  the  first  case,  one  can  lay  down  as  a 
rule  that  the  lot  with  seventy-five  feet  along  the  street 
and  one  hundred  feet  back  can  be  treated  with  better 
effect  than  if  one  hundred  feet  be  taken  on  the  street 
and  seventy-five  feet  back.  Of  course,  it  is  always  possible 
to  meet  any  kind  of  difficulty  in  the  shape  of  a  lot,  only 
it  is  wise  not  to  court  difficulties  if  possible. 

More  important  than  the  shape  of  the  lot,  we  shall 
find,  is  the  character  of  adjoining  property,  such  as  low 
marshy  lands,  undrained  stables,  and  all  kinds  of  nui- 
sances to  the  eye,  or  ear,  or  nostrils.  On  the  other 
hand,  one  might  well  wish  to  be  neighbored  by  a  long- 
tried  friend,  a  noble  grove  of  trees  or  a  beautiful  lawn. 
The  neighboring  of  a  sunset  sky  over  lake  or  ocean,  or 
of  a  wind-swept  field  of  grass,  increases  many  fold  the 
value  of  a  building  lot. 

The  interior  of  the  place  should  be  considered  with 
the  same  view  to  securing  simplicity  and  breadth,  for 
trees  will  grow  large,  and  houses,  in  order  to  carry  out 
the  designer's  ideas,  often  take  much  space.  The  terri- 
tory of  the  home  grounds,  with  the  depressions  and  ele- 
vations, must  naturally  be  arranged  with  room  enough 
for  breadth  to  abide.  Tangles,  so  lovely  in  wild  nature, 
would  be  all  out  of  place.  They  would  shut  out  the 
light  and  air,  and  give  a  sense  of  too  much  confinement ; 
they  would  bury  the  house,  and  neutralize  that  sense  of 


THE  SELECTION  OF  HOME  GROUNDS        3 

peaceful  buoyancy  that  comes  only  with  the  presence 
around  one  of  abundance  of  open  space  and  sky  and 
air.  In  deference  to  the  necessity  for  the  presence  of 
these  essential  qualities  of  breadth  and  repose,  ordinary 
trees,  and  even  parts  of  the  house,  may  have  to  be  left 
out.  Perfect  scale  and  proportion  are  essential  on  all 
home  grounds,  and  low,  compact  trees,  like  the  Japanese 
maple  polymorphum,  and  the  white  birch  and  dogwood, 
may  be  associated  with  low  shrubs  like  Rhodotypus  ker- 
rioides  and  symphoricarpus,  and  with  vines  like  Rosa 
setigera  or  R.  wichuriana,  giving  the  effect  of  a  fine 
miniature  lawn  picture  where  breadth  and  simplicity  will 
still  reign  in  the  open  stretches  of  turf.  The  frame 
of  the  picture,  the  softening  of  the  angles  and  bare  sur- 
faces of  the  house  with  vines,  may  be  made  delightful  on 
the  smallest  place  by  the  use  of  moderate-sized  trees 
and  shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants  and  vines. 

To  obtain  and  retain  simplicity  and  breadth,  it  is  well 
to  use  a  small  number  of  kinds  of  plants,  and  to  dispose 
them  in  borders  with  slightly  curving  outlines.  Deep 
bays  and  recesses  of  shrubbery,  on  a  small  place,  may 
produce  an  affected  and  sophisticated,  or  complicated 
and  confused  result,  entirely  destructive  of  all  sugges- 
tions of  simplicity. 

It  is  needless  to  point  out  that  in  considering  the 
wants  of  a  country  place,  small  or  large,  one  'must  first 
think  whether  the  necessities  for  comfort  and  conve- 
nience are  properly  provided  for.  Room  of  a  suitable 
character  should  be  secured  for  vegetable  garden,  flower 
garden,  stables,  chicken  yard,  and  easy  turns  for  wagons, 
so  that  the  whole  establishment  can  be  run  smoothly. 
Trees,  rocks,  hills,  and  hollows,  on  many  tracts,  group 
themselves  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  evident  to  the 


4   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

prospective  householder  that  he  had  better  seek  else- 
where for  what  he  wants.  The  spot  may  be  charming 
and  tempting  in  the  beauty  it  exhibits,  but  if  it  does  not 
readily  offer  on  its  unchanged  conformation  the  particular 
features  he  requires,  it  would  be  much  better  to  leave 
it  alone.  It  is  difficult,  and  often  really  hazardous,  to 
undertake  to  change  by  grading  any  spot  into  the  sort 
of  place  one  wants,  where  at  the  very  outset  the  natural 
peculiarities  do  not  suggest  the  special  form  of  treatment 
which  is  sought.  There  is  a  forced  note  about  all  such 
work  that  may  mar  the  quality  of  the  undertaking,  be  it 
ever  so  skillfully  carried  out.  It  must  be  confessed  that 
we  are  naturally  drawn  to  many  lots  unsuitable  for  us  to 
live  on,  that  are  in  themselves  beautiful  with  hills,  rocks, 
and  running  or  still  water.  The  charms  of  certain  attrac- 
tive features  enthrall  us,  and  we  return  again  and  again, 
in  the  vain  hope  that  we  may  be  able  to  think  of  a  way 
to  force  its  beauty  and  picturesqueness  into  the  limita- 
tions of  our  home  necessities.  Finally,  perhaps,  we  yield 
to  the  temptation,  and  buy  the  fascinating  spot.  At 
first  it  is  enough  for  us  to  show  our  friends  the  many 
attractive  features  of  knoll  and  grove  and  water,  but 
later  on,  when  we  start  to  actually  arrange  the  place 
with  a  distinct  view  to  the  comforts  of  daily  life,  we  soon 
begin  to  realize  the  difficulties  of  our  undertaking. 

In  the  first  place,  where  one  would  naturally  seek  a 
building  site,  it  will  be  found  to  stand  directly  on  the 
street  and  be  peculiarly  subject  to  dust  and  public  expo- 
sure. The  next  knoll  that  has  some  semblance  of  suita- 
bility for  the  house  will  probably  be  too  small,  and  require, 
if  it  is  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  a  house  site,  to 
have  its  rounded  contours  broadened  and  flattened.  But 
the  difficulties  will  not  stop  here,  for  when  a  course  is 


THE  SELECTION  OF  HOME  GROUNDS        5 

sought  for  the  road  that  is  to  lead  to  the  house,  it  will 
be  found,  perhaps,  that  some  knoll  prevents  its  entrance 
on  the  grounds  at  the  best  point.  When  the  course  of 
the  road  is  continued  farther,  contiguous  knolls  may 
again  make  it  winding  and  difficult  to  traverse  with  a 
horse  and  wagon,  and  the  selection  or  adoption  of  some 
steep  grade  becomes  necessary  to  reach  the  house.  It  is, 
moreover,  a  dangerous  thing  to  attempt  to  radically 
change  the  natural  contours  of  any  territory,  so  our  way 
out  in  building  roads  and  paths  and  locating  houses  in 
such  places  is  not  an  easy  one.  In  these  lands  of  hills 
and  dales,  water  will  be  apt  to  collect  in  pockets  and 
threaten  us  with  unhealthy^Onditions. 

Finally,  as  years  go  on,  we  will  find  that  the  lawns  will 
not  be  as  enduring  under  the  stress  of  drought,  and  the 
banks  more  liable  to  wash,  on  picturesque  hill  lots  than 
elsewhere.  Indeed,  the  problem  of  selecting  a  home  in 
rugged  regions  becomes  often  so  hard  to  solve  that  an 
expert  may  easily  make  mistakes,  for  even  our  greatest 
architects  make  them  in  their  most  approved  city  build- 
ings. Common  sense,  therefore,  and  a  general  feeling 
in  favor  of  economy  of  effect  should  prompt  us  to  seek 
the  line  of  least  resistance,  and  establish  our  houses  and 
grounds  where  the  conditions  readily  shape  themselves 
to  our  hands. 

The  author  does  not  wish  to  imply  that  all  lots  on 
picturesque  broken  ground  are  objectionable,  but  sim- 
ply to  explain  some  of  the  difficulties  that  are  likely  to 
arise  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  create  a  home  on  such 
land.  There  is  little  doubt  that  a  level  lot  is  better 
suited  to  the  general  purposes  of  a  home  than  a  hilly 
one,  but,  all  the  same,  the  reader  may  come  across  a 
property,  rugged  and  broken,  which  does  in  the  most 


6   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

happy  manner  fit  into  his  needs  for  a  comfortable  and 
delightful  home ;  only  let  him  be  sure  he  has  taken  into 
account  all  his  desires  and  necessities  in  this  respect,  for 
it  is  all  too  easy  to  forget  some  of  them  in  the  presence 
of  a  charming  valley  or  distant  view.  Yet  if  he  is  en- 
tirely convinced  that  he  has  found  such  a  place,  by  all 
means  lose  no  time  in  securing  it  and  building  a  worthy 
house  and  home. 

—By  selecting  a  comparatively  level  open  lot  where  the 
limitations  of  the  surface  are  not  unduly  restricted,  the 
exercise  of  an  intelligent  imagination  and  skill  is  bound 
to  develop  a  variety  of  charm  of  skyline,  lawn  contours, 
and  groups  of  trees  and  flowers  that  would  at  first  seem 
impossible.  It  is  wonderful  how  much  can  be  done,  in 
this  way,  by  erecting  the  house  on  a  terrace  by  means  of 
the  earth  excavated  for  the  foundation,  by  lifting  the 
plantations  on  slightly  elevated  territories,  and  by  keep- 
ing the  roads  and  paths  above  or  below  the  surrounding 
ground.  Variety  is  doubtless  indispensable  to  genuine 
charm,  but,  on  a  comparatively  level  place,  it  is  evident 
that  it  may  be  readily  associated  with  repose  and  sim- 
plicity. On  a  level  lot  it  is,  moreover,  easier  to  shut 
out  disagreeable  objects  and  to  develop  pleasing  vistas 
and  outlooks,  and  on  a  square  plot  the  beauty  of  the 
exterior  as  well  as  the  interior  effects  can  be  brought 
out  better  than  on  a  lot  of  any  other  shape.  It  may 
take  more  time  to  secure  the  variety  and  seclusion  at  all 
points  on  a  square  level  lot  than  on  a  hilly  one,  but  the 
trees  on  a  level  lot  can  be  placed  just  where  they  will 
produce  the  best  effect  as  screens  and  barriers,  while  the 
hills,  when  you  commence  to  plant,  are  apt  to  come  ex- 
actly where  you  do  not  want  them. 

In  order  to  overcome  the  element  of  time  on  the  level 


THE  SELECTION  OF  HOME  GROUNDS        1 

lot  as  much  as  possible,  large  rapid-growing  trees  may 
be  used,  at  many  points,  with  excellent  effect.  There  is 
a  limit  to  this  transplanting,  however,  if  it  be  allowable 
to  admit  as  much  in  face  of  various  successful  removals 
of  very  large  trees  all  over  the  world.  Experience  has 
taught  men  to  fix  an  age  and  size  beyond  which  it  is  not 
wise  to  move  a  tree  even  though  previously  and  lately 
transplanted  and  root-pruned.  The  exact  nature  of  this 
limit  varies  almost  with  every  species  of  tree,  and  even 
with  different  specimens  of  the  same  species,  where  there 
is  a  marked  difference  in  vigor  of  branch  growth  and 
multiplicity  and  freshness  of  small  root  fiber.  In  a  gen- 
eral way,  it  may  be  said,  however,  that  the  large  trees 
of  considerable  vigor,  like  maples  and  elms,  may  be  moved 
successfully,  especially  when  they  have  been  root-pruned 
two  or  three  years  before,  of  the  sizes  of  four  to  five 
inches  in  diameter  of  stem  a  foot  from  the  ground,  and 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  provided  they  are  healthy 
and  full  of  sap,  and  not  stunted  or  in  any  way  decadent. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  are  trees,  like  the  hickory  and 
pepperidge,  that  should  be  set  out,  after  transplanting,  of 
a  size  not  exceeding  one  or  two  feet ;  and  the  magnolias 
and  oaks,  that  grow  readily  only  when  moved  of  the  small 
size  of  six  to  eight  feet.  It  is  necessary  to  remember, 
in  order  to  understand  somewhat  the  anomalous  results  of 
transplanting  trees,  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to  make  a  tree 
live,  but  it  must  grow,  to  satisfy  us.  For  this  reason, 
one  often  sees  large  trees,  which  have  been  transplanted 
ten  years,  that  have  scarcely  grown  a  foot ;  although  no 
one  can  say  that  it  is  not  possible  to  move  the  largest 
perfectly  healthy  trees  with  a  practically  unlimited 
expenditure  of  time  and  money.  In  any  case,  however, 
it  is  a  good  idea  to  move  trees  as  large  as  their  nature 


8   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

will  readily  permit,  since  the  maximum  effect  is  in  this 
way  produced  in  the  shortest  time,  and  variety  and  seclu- 
sion obtained  in  a  year  or  two  on  an  ordinary  flat  place. 

It  might  seem  at  first  that  the  presence  of  woodland 
on  a  lot  of  ground  would  make  it  more  valuable  for 
establishing  home  grounds.  The  shade  and  natural  wild- 
wood  effect  doubtless  constitute  a  desirable  attraction, 
but  even  woodland  has  its  decided  drawbacks.  We  may 
lie  on  the  turf  and  enjoy  the  densest  shade,  for  we  will 
readily  catch  lovely  glimpses  of  the  blue  sky  and  flicker- 
ing sunbeams,  but  it  will  be  most  of  the  time  damp, 
the  grass  will  be  sparse,  and  instead  of  young  trees 
and  shrubs  will  spring  up  brambles  and  briers.  The 
engrossing  presence  of  the  woodland  will  also  tend  to  de- 
stroy that  simplicity  and  breadth  that  we  ought  to  value 
so  much  on  home  grounds,  and  surely  its  sombre  monotony 
of  general  effect  will  be  apt  to  mar  the  place's  cheerful- 
ness and  variety.  It  is,  moreover,  a  positive  advantage 
to  be  able  to  set  out  all  trees  and  shrubs  freshly  in  the 
beginning,  for  we  shall  secure  thereby  more  exactly  the 
effect  we  are  seeking,  and  the  time  will  be  comparatively 
short  before  the  desired  effect  is  obtained.  This  may 
seem  contrary  to  the  general  view  of  seeking  a  place 
which  will  have  trees,  houses,  rocks,  all  ready  made  as 
it  were ;  but  the  kind  of  place  on  which  a  home  can  be 
best  made  exhibits  originally  few  incidents  of  house, 
trees,  or  rock,  and  as  few  variations  of  its  surface  and 
boundaries  as  possible.  Like  a  blank  page  of  a  book,  it 
will  then  be  ready  to  receive  the  full  and  unrestricted 
inditement  or  depiction  of  the  ideas  of  its  owner. 

One  of  the  most  important  practical  considerations, 
and  one  that  should  have  much  weight  in  the  selection  of 
home  grounds,  is  the  quality  of  the  soil.  A  dry  sandy 


THE  SELECTION  OF  HOME  GROUNDS        9 

loam  with  a  sufficient  admixture  of  clay  will  give  the 
best  results  of  all  kinds  for  the  lawns  and  gardens  of 
home  grounds.  Clay  suffers  from  drought,  and  stony 
soil  is  difficult  to  cultivate  in  the  first  place,  and  in  the 
second  place  is  liable  to  wash  into  gullies. 

Finally,  the  author  finds  himself  confronted  in  the 
selection  of  home  grounds  with  the  importance  of  living 
among  people,  and  of  securing  the  conveniences  that  tend 
to  make  human  and  kindly  everyday  existence.  Nat- 
urally, every  one  must  settle  what  are  his  needs,  in  this 
respect,  in  accordance  with  his  own  taste,  for  it  is  just 
here  that  personal  convenience  asserts  itself,  and  most 
justly,  in  perfect  freedom.  Among  such  outside  conve- 
niences may  be  mentioned  churches,  railroad  stations, 
highways,  water,  street-lighting,  and  sewerage. 

In  the  present  days  of  many  wide-spread  advantages, 
surely  pieces  of  land,  both  small  and  large,  can  be 
found,  by  diligent  seeking,  that  will  combine  with  a  rea- 
sonable amount  of  beauty  and  seclusion  the  essentials  of 
actual  comfort  and  well-being. 


THE  SELECTION  OF  THE  SITE  OF  THE  HOUSE 

IT  seems  needless  to  say  that  the  house  should  be  the 
center  and  key-point  of  the  entire  design  of  the 
smallest  as  well  as  the  largest  village  lot  or  coun- 
try place.  A  badly  located  house  would  evidently  destroy 
the  value  of  the  design  of  the  entire  place.  As  the 
house  must  remain  always  the  chief  consideration  of 
home  grounds,  its  site  must  be  studied  from  its  different 
aspects,  and  with  regard  to  its  various  functions.  There 
are  the  health  considerations,  and  conveniences  of  the 
house  itself;  the  means  of  entrance  and  exit,  and  the 
exposure  and  outlook  of  dining-rooms,  kitchens,  parlors, 
and  bedrooms.  The  road  and  path  system  of  the  place, 
and  their  connections  with  stables,  drying-ground,  and 
garden,  are  all  important  factors  in  the  problem.  Dis- 
tant views  will  have  to  be  provided  for,  as  well  as  con- 
nections with  near  vistas,  and  attractive  surrounding 
lawns,  waters,  groves,  and  so  forth. 

Opportunities  will  arise,  and  should  be  taken  advan- 
tage of,  whereby  terraces  and  level  spaces  of  lawn  can 
be  secured  for  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  house. 
The  contours  of  the  ground  should  suggest  this,  and 
there  should  be  no  forced  or  unnatural  scheme  of  arrange- 
ment employed. 


SELECTION  OF  THE  SITE  OF  THE  HOUSE  11 

The  situation  of  the  front  door  is  the  key-note  that 
should  largely  determine  the  proper  situation  of  the 
house  in  the  general  harmony  of  the  place.  From  the 
front  gate  the  road  will  lead  to  the  house  by  a  route  that 
will  be  affected  by  existing  grades  and  location  of  trees. 
The  road  should  seek  to  conceal  itself  as  it  approaches 
the  house,  and  when  the  building  presents  itself  in  full 
view,  the  kitchen,  laundry,  and  the  more  or  less  business 
rooms  should  not  be  visible.  The  main  views,  such  as 
open  terraces,  lawns,  and  specially  attractive  portions 
of  the  place,  should  lie  on  the  other  side  of  the  house, 
where  the  disturbing  effect  of  graveled  roads  will  not 
mar  the  harmony  of  the  scene,  and  the  guests  will  feel 
with  unalloyed  pleasure  the  hearty  invitation  of  a  hos- 
pitable home  to  enter  in  and  be  at  rest.  Back  doors 
and  piazzas  will  all  need  consideration  in  determining 
the  site  of  the  house,  as  well  as  the  porte-cochere,  and 
subordinate  paths  and  roads  leading  to  various  parts  of 
the  ground  (see  pages  4  and  5). 

Prevailing  breezes  in  summer  are  factors  in  the  com- 
fort of  home  life  which  should  not  be  overlooked.  The 
house  after  its  many  adjustments  to  satisfy  numerous 
considerations  can  be  generally  shifted  around  so  as  to 
secure  for  the  living-room  windows  the  advantage  of 
afternoon  shade  and  cool  air.  The  reader  will  find  on 
further  thought  that  he  can  afford  to  give  up  advan- 
tages such  as  that  which  arranges  the  house  parallel 
with  the  highway,  but  he  will  find  the  free  access  of 
prevailing  breezes  absolutely  essential  to  comfort  in 
summer  life. 

Protection  from  cold  winds  will  also  have  peculiar 
importance  to  any  one  who  spends  the  winter  in  the 
country,  or  occupies,  the  year  round,  a  village  lot.  As 


12  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

the  cold  winds  usually  come  from  a  westerly  direction, 
and  as  the  hot  afternoon  glare  of  summer  comes  also 
from  the  same  direction,  it  is  not  difficult  to  guard 


MAIN          STREET 

VILLAGE  LOT  OF  ONE-HALF  ACRE,  SHOWING  SUITABLE   LOCATION 
FOR  SMALL  HOUSE 


against  both  summer  and  winter  discomforts  at  the  same 
time.  The  cheerfulness  and  life  of  the  house  depends 
largely  on  the  morning  and  noon  sunlight  being  allowed 
to  penetrate  the  chambers  of  the  dwelling,  and  to  the 


SELECTION  OF  THE  SITE  OF  THE  HOUSE  13 

supreme  value  of  such  an  adjustment  in  both  sickness 
and  health  any  doctor  will  testify. 

Having  given  due  weight  to  requirements  of  comfort 
and  convenience,  we  turn  once  more  to  the  aesthetic 
side  of  our  problem.  To  look  well  and  marry  itself  to 
the  ground,  if  we  may  be  permitted  the  use  of  the  phrase, 
the  long  way  of  the  house  should  follow  the  contours  and 
run  parallel  with  them,  and  not  across  them. 


LATTICE  AND   VINE  PROTECTION   FOR  DRYING-GROUND 

• 

In  view  of  the  necessities  of  the  kitchen,  the  drying- 
ground  must  be  kept  near  the  house,  and  although  ever- 
greens and  strong  bushy  shrubs  will  eventually  shut  it 
from  view,  there  will  be  some  time  required  for  their 
growth  to  gain  sufficient  size ;  consequently,  it  is  a  good 
idea  to  erect  around  the  drying-ground  a  lattice  of  wood 
or  wire,  at  once,  and  to  plant  in  front  of  it  rapid  grow- 
ing vines  such  as  honeysuckles,  Virginia  creepers,  and 
climbing  roses,  and  to  front  them  with  deciduous  and 
evergreen  shrubs  or  evergreen  trees  (see  cut  above). 
Inexperienced  persons  are  apt  to  imagine  that  trees  and 
shrubs  will  screen  drying-grounds  quicker  and  more 
completely  than  is  actually  the  case.  Unfortunately, 


14      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

nothing  in  this  climate  will  screen  completely  except 
evergreen  conifers  such  as  pines  and  hemlocks,  ever- 
green shrubs  having  too  low  and  slow  a  growth;  and 
even  they  cannot  be  always  depended  on  to  last  many 
years  before  decadence  and  disaster  are  likely  to  occur. 
The  climate  of  America  is  not,  evidently,  altogether 
favorable  to  evergreens. 

So  far  as  the  practical  features  of  the  house  or  its 
arrangements  go,  there  is  chance  for  variety,  but  within 
certain  well-defined  limits.  Definite  ends  must  be  sought 
and  sure  results  be  obtained. 

In  considering  the  practical  relations  of  the  site  of 
the  house  with  other  features  of  the  place,  we  should 
naturally  take  into  account  the  location  of  the  stable  and 
other  outbuildings.  There  are  two  ways  of  looking  at 
the  location  of  the  stables.  They  may  be  either  within 
fifty  or  one  hundred  feet,  and  it  is  an  old  English  custom, 
which  is  followed  with  good  effect  even  in  these  days, 
to  build  the  house  and  stables  in  the  same  inclosure,  so 
that  the  roofs  are  continuous ;  or  the  stable  may  be  set 
hundreds  of  feet  away,  screened  by  large  trees  and 
shrubs,  on  the  theory  that  many  things  necessarily  per- 
taining to  such  places  would  not  be  agreeable  too  near 
the  dwelling.  At  the  same  time,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
a  stable  can  be  so  well  kept  as  to  be  almost  inoffensive 
near  the  house,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are 
many  advantages  in  keeping  the  stable  at  a  distance, 
which  can  be  the  more  readily  done  in  these  days  of  tel- 
ephones, megaphones,  etc.  Wherever  the  stables  are, 
and  however  much  we  may  endeavor  to  screen  them  with 
trees  and  shrubs,  it  will  be  found  a  good  plan  to  build 
wire  or  wooden  lattice-work  close  to  the  building,  and  to 
cover  it  with  vines  so  as  to  embower  it  more  completely 


SELECTION  OF  THE  SITE  OF  THE  HOUSE  15 

than  the  trees  or  shrubs  will  be  likely  to  do  for  many 
years. 

In  any  case,  care  should  be  taken  to  arrange  the 
stables  so  that  they  seem  either  a  part  of  the  domain  of 
the  house,  or  appear  evidently  detached  and  associated 
with  something  else  at  a  considerable  distance.  It 
would  be  unfortunate  to  locate  them  in  a  sort  of  semi- 
detached way,  isolated,  with  no  apparent  connection 
with  the  house,  which  may  mean  that  they  are  neither 
sufficiently  near  nor  sufficiently  far.  There  is  an  unre- 
lated, detached  way  of  arranging  the  features  of  the 
grounds  that  will,  if  used,  give  the  stables  a  lonesome 
and  inconvenient  appearance,  and  distinctly  mar  the  gen- 
eral appearance  of  the  place,  and  it  is  against  this 
method,  or  lack  of  method,  that  the  reader  should  be 
specially  warned. 

But  when  we  come  to  contriving  various  adjustments 
looking  to  the  development  of  the  beauty  of  the  place, 
variations  of  effect  may  be  managed  in  a  dozen  ways. 
By  shifting  the  house  a  little,  fine  views  heretofore 
hidden  may  be  opened  from  the  piazza  or  the  porch. 
Vistas  and  glimpses  of  scenery  may  be  made  to  suddenly 
appear,  or  only  creep  gradually,  as  the  hours  of  the  day 
and  the  seasons  change,  into  view  of  the  windows  at 
which  the  family  spend  most  of  their  time.  It  would  be 
enough  to  repay  much  thought  and  contrivance  if  only 
one  noble  tree  or  fine  massive  rock  were,  by  some 
special  adjustment  of  the  house  site,  brought  into  view 
of  the  dining-room  or  sitting-room.  The  same  line  of 
study  will  lead  to  the  contrivance  of  open  spaces  of  level 
lawn  around  the  house,  where  an  expanse  of  turf,  raised 
on  a  terrace,  will  lend  dignity  and  distinction  to  the 
building.  The  road,  inspired  by  the  same  desire  to  de- 


16      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

velop  in  every  way  the  possibilities  of  beauty  and  conve- 
nience inherent  in  the  site,  may  be  lead  by  tree-masked 
ways  to  a  point  where  the  house  will  gradually  glide  into 
view,  bit  by  bit,  till  its  full  effect  stands  before  us. 

In  the  case  of  a  small  village  plot  this  complete  mask- 
ing of  roadway  and  path  is  seldom  advisable,  but  gener- 
ally one  or  more  large  trees  can  be  so  placed  in  relation 
to  the  house  that  the  breadth  of  its  general  surface, 
broken  up  by  masses  of  foliage,  will  serve  to  reveal  only 
small  areas,  here  and  there,  of  the  roof  and  sides. 

All  these  changes  of  the  original  earth  surface  may 
be  so  managed  that,  when  the  house  is  once  located,  the 
remainder  of  the  ground  seems  comparatively  unchanged. 
At  intervals  a  road  or  path  will  peep  out  in  an  unobtru- 
sive way,  and  open  spaces  will  appear  only  as  natural- 
looking  glades  or  lawns,  or  as  a  suitable  resting  place 
for  the  home  itself. 

The  turf  and  trees  and  shrubs  will  seem  to  be  a  natural 
arrangement  of  features  that  have  apparently,  by  acci- 
dent, fitted  themselves  to  the  needs  of  the  house.  This 
kind  of  work  is  not  expensive,  and  all  the  more  dignified 
and  refined  because  it  adheres  as  closely  as  possible  to 
the  original  peculiarities  of  the  ground.  A  few  trees  or 
shrubs  are  set  here  and  there,  or  in  borders,  simply  to 
help  out  the  natural  suggestions  of  the  place,  and  all 
too  obvious  effects  are  obscured  as  much  as  possible  by 
various  devices  of  arrangement. 

On  a  village  lot  this  obviousness  is  more  difficult  to 
manage  than  on  a  larger  place,  and  obviousness  in  excess 
is  objectionable,  because  all  parts  of  the  place  should 
blend  in  gradual  and  perfect  harmony.  It  is  an  advan- 
tage to  the  general  effect  of  a  small  building  lot  to  set 
the  house  well  back  from  the  street,  and  to  mass  the 


SELECTION  OF  THE  SITE  OF  THE  HOUSE  17 

front  and  side  lawns  so  as  to  give  breadth  and  simplicity 
and  as  much  depth  as  possible.  To  secure  this  effect  in 
the  best  way,  self-restraint  must  be  exercised  in  setting 
out  trees.  It  may  seem  a  little  strange  to  the  reader  to 
be  warned  against  setting  out  trees  and  shrubs,  but  it  is 
easy  to  conceive  a  small  house  lot  where  the  proper  sim- 
plicity and  dignity  of  the  place  require  the  plant  adorn- 
ment to  be  limited  to  turf  on  the  lawn,  and  vines  on  the 
fence  and  house. 

In  the  same  way  these  small  places  should  be  graded 
level,  and  not  scooped  out  in  valleys  in  a  forced  and  un- 
natural and  often  undignified  fashion.  Simplicity  and 
dignity  should  be  the  key-note  of  all  landscape  gardening, 
and  from  the  nature  of  the  plants,  variety  will  be  sure  to 
follow  with  happy  effect  the  presence  of  the  few  trees 
and  shrubs  and  vines  to  which  we  may  be  obliged  to  limit 
ourselves. 

These  preliminary  principles  being  laid  down,  whoever 
adheres  to  them,  when  he  assumes  the  responsibility  of 
selecting  a  house  site,  will  find  that  the  comforts  and 
delights  of  living  will  be  reasonably  provided  for.  It 
only  remains  for  him  to  successfully  pursue  his  own  indi- 
vidual taste  in  the  selection  of  trees  and  flowers,  and  the 
readjustment,  as  time  goes  on,  of  the  roads,  paths,  and 
lawns  to  any  altered  conditions  that  may  arise,  provided 
he  will  never  forget  to  be  controlled  by  these  simple  and 
common-sense  basic  ideas. 
2 


ROADS  AND  PATHS 

WE  have  already  found  that  turf  may  be  much 
more  attractive  than  roads  or  paths,  even 
though  the  latter  are  planned  for  aesthetic 
reasons  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  convenience.  The 
cost  of  mistakes  in  ordering  such  matters  too  exclusively 
or  unintelligently  on  the  artistic  side,  is  some  of  the 
actual  convenience  of  the  place ;  the  cost  of  mistakes, 
when  the  beauty  and  artistic  effect  of  the  place  alone  are 
considered  unintelligently,  is  the  constant  irritation,  and 
consequent  loss  of  comfort,  of  things  not  rounded  out 
and  made  suitable  for  the  definite  end  for  which  they 
ought  to  be  made. 

We  shall  see,  as  we  consider  further  the  different  fea- 
tures of  home  grounds,  how  often  the  question  arises 
as  to  the  best  way  to  reconcile  apparently  conflicting 
claims  of  beauty  and  utility.  Each  should  have  due  con- 
sideration, each  should  be  studied  in  the  light  of  what 
we  believe  to  be  sensible  needs  and  conveniences  and 
genuine  artistic  simplicity  and  breadth,  and  these  need 
not  be  allowed  to  conflict  with  each  other  if  they  are 
intelligently  managed.  Thus  the  temptation  comes  to 
multiply  the  number  and  extent  of  our  roads  for  the  sake 
of  convenience,  with  the  sad  result  of  mighty  small  bene- 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  19 

fit  in  the  way  of  convenience  and  much  permanent  injury 
to  the  beauty  of  the  surface  where  unattractive  roads 
take  the  place  of  attractive  turf  or  trees  and  shrubs. 

In  like  manner  it  is  frequently  most  natural  and  most 
convenient  to  follow  a  comparatively  straight  or  slightly 
curved  line  to  the  house,  except  on  a  very  small  lawn 
where  the  necessary  economy  of  limited  space  may  re- 
strict us  to  a  perfectly  straight  line ;  and  here  again,  no 
temptation  of  the  beauty  of  curves  that  deviate  widely 
from  the  straight  course  should  be  allowed  to  divert 
the  more  sensible  because  more  direct  course.  For  the 
same  practical  reason  the  apparent  aesthetic  value  of 
winding  or  twisting  roads,  in  spite  of  their  frequent 
beauty  of  line,  is  doubtful,  when  we  consider  that  they 
are  likely  to  be  inconvenient  and  difficult  for  the  passage 
of  horses  and  carriages.  With  paths  it  is  different;  a 
path  may  gain  by  winding  and  twisting,  provided  a  rea- 
son for  the  curve  is  evident  in  the  shape  of  a  tree  or 
rock,  or  some  particular  view  of  building  that  it  is  desir- 
able to  reach  by  a  sudden  deviation  of  the  line  of  travel. 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  of  many  small  places  where  a 
straight  road  entering  the  center  of  the  grounds  is  the 
only  thing  advisable  (see  page  28) ;  with  large  estates 
this  is  not  so.  It  is  well  to  keep  one's  mind  free  from 
prejudice  in  favor  of  formal  styles  of  treatment,  depend- 
ing entirely  on  the  suggestions  of  the  ground  and  not  on 
a  prior  theory.  An  excellent  way  to  design  entrances, 
where  the  necessity  of  driving  in  either  way  is  of  equal 
importance,  is  to  go  in  at  two  points,  as  on  page  22,  thus 
creating  an  enclosed  territory  or  ante-park  that  offers 
itself  for  planting,  as  a  foretaste,  as  it  were,  of  pleasure, 
before  the  place  itself  has  been  reached,  and  helping  to 
make,  by  the  employment  of  large  masking  plantations 


20      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 


CONTOUR  MAP  OF  COUNTRY  PLACE  OP  EIGHT  ACRES,  WITH  STEEP  CONTOURS 

of  shade  trees  and  shrubs,  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
approaches  to  a  country  place  that  can  be  imagined. 
The  entrance  in  this  way  gains  dignity,  and  a  rural 
and  park-like  character  that  has  none  of  the  preten- 
tiousness of  some  cut-stone  and  elaborate  iron  gate 
designs. 

In  studying  the  different  elements  that  contribute  to 
the  efficient  and  harmonious  development  of  all  country 
places,  we  find  that  three  notable  features  present  them- 
selves for  our  consideration,  namely,  the  house  and  its 
outbuildings,  the  area  of  the  lawn,  and  the  area  of  the> 

trees  and  shrubs.     In  the  interest  of  proportion  and 

j 


ROADS  AND  PATHS 


21 


Jj 


SAME  COUNTRY  PLACE  AS  ON  OPPOSITE  PAGE,  SHOWING  ARRANGE- 
MENT OP  PLANTATIONS,  ROADS,  AND  PATHS 

liarmony,  the  space  alloted  to  these  features  first  needs 
study. 

These  three  primary  and  all-important  elements  of  a 
place  having  arranged  themselves  in  a  definite .  and  ra- 
tional fashion,  the  consideration  of  the  roads  and  jDaths 
comes  next.  The  general  idea  of  them  is  convenience 
and  beauty,  which  is  synonymous  with  simplicity  and 


SECTION    OP    ABOVE    PLAN    TAKEN    ON    LINE    ACROSS    THE    CENTER   OF 
CIRCLE,   HOUSE,   AND  TERRACE 


22      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

directness.  There  is  always  a  particular  curve  that  suits 
a  road  in  a  special  region  of  the  grounds  both  for  beauty 
and  simple  directness,  and  there  is  a  special  width  needed 
for  the  road  that  is  at  once  convenient  and  looks  in  due 
proportion  to  the  general  appearance  of  the  place. 

By  commencing  at  the  entrance,  and  marking  out  a 
way  to  the  front  door,  we  will  discover  some  of  the  lim- 
itations that  will  control  the  course  of  the  roads  and 
paths.  The  entrance  will  have  its  relations  to  the  high- 
way or  nearest  railroad  station,  and  its  position  will  be 
largely  determined  by  the  nature  of  the  ground,  whether 


DOUBLE  ENTRANCE,   WITH   ANTE-PARK 

hilly  or  otherwise,  on  the  boundary  of  the  property.  It 
is  usually  better  to  enter  a  place  on  one  corner  or  the 
other,  and  reach  the  house  by  easy  and  slightly  winding 
curves,  or  almost  straight  lines  (see  page  21). 

When  one  assumes  this  attitude  of  mind  toward  all 
landscape  problems,  it  is  wonderful  how  many  ways  will 
present  themselves  for  accomplishing  a  desired  result, 
and  how  beautiful  and  simple  and  convenient  will  be  the 
plan  finally  adopted  if  we  will  yield  ourselves  to  the  un- 
divided teachings  and  suggestions  of  the  environment 
itself. 

To  enter  the  place  agreeably  and  safely,  and  prevent 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  23 

as  much  as  possible  all  danger  of  collision  with  teams 
coming  the  opposite  way,  it  is  wise  to  carry  the  road 
directly  into  the  grounds,  at  right  angles  to  the  highway, 
twenty-five  feet  to  one  hundred  feet,  in  accordance  with 
the  size  of  the  place  (see  page  25).  When  the  road  turns, 
it  should  skirt  around,  and  not  across  the  lawns  more 
than  is  necessary  to  make  a  reasonably  direct  course  to 
the  house.  If  it  runs  into  and  through  the  mass  of 
shrubbery  somewhat,  it  will  tend  to  secure  for  the  road 
a  partial  concealment,  which  we  have  seen  is  also  desir- 


CARRIAGE  TURN  WITH  GRASS  PLOT,  SHOWING 
COURSE  PARALLEL  WITH  HOUSE 

able.  Wherever  some  natural  obstruction,  such  as  house, 
tree,  or  rock,  does  not  force  the  road  into  a  sudden 
curve,  the  aim  should  be  to  bend  it  into  a  long  line,  as 
nearly  straight  as  the  circumstances  will  permit.  Re- 
verse curves  or  snake-like  twists,  as  we  havs  seen,  are 
apt  to  mar  the  simplicity  and  dignity  of  the  design,  and, 
above  all,  to  confuse  the  horse  unless  he  is  driven  by  a 
particularly  skillful  driver  (see  page  24). 

As  we  approach  the  house,  we  will  find  that  any  curve  in 
our  road  must  be  entirely  straightened,  and  a  line  taken 
parallel  with  the  house  throughout  at  least  the  portion  of 
the  front  it  passes  (see  page  24).  This  kind  of  approach 


24      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

possesses  more  dignity  and  presents  the  house  to  better 
advantage  than  the  one  that  leads  up  to  the  house  and 
directly  away  again,  by  means  of  a  circle  or  narrow  turn. 
If  circumstances  will  allow — and  it  is  wonderful  how  much 
circumstances  can  be  made  to  allow  to  the  intelligent 
effort  of  careful  study — it  is  a  good  idea  to  design  all 
curves  of  roads  on  different  lines  of  the  ellipse,  and  to 
avoid  arcs  of  circles,  because  they  are  difficult,  in  most 
cases,  to  employ  in  a  practical  way. 

Whether  the  road  shall  enter  in  front  of  the  house  and 
come  out  again  at  the  same  point  as  it  entered,  or 


A — BAD  LINE  FOR  A  ROAD  ;  B — GOOD   LINE   FOR  A  ROAD 

whether  it  shall  leave  the  place  at  another  and  more 
distant  place,  are  questions  which  the  size  of  the  grounds 
and  other  considerations  will  govern.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that,  all  other  things  being  equal,  the  best  road  is  the  one 
that  takes  the  shortest  line.  Sometimes  a  simple  widen- 
ing of  the  road  in  front  of  the  house  simplifies  mat- 
ters and  gives  sufficient  room  for  turning  (see  page  26). 
It  is  impossible  and  unwise  to  attempt  to  say  how  every 
special  problem  of  road  arrangement  should  be  treated, 
for  we  cannot  assume  to  know  all  the  circumstances  that 
will  control  the  result.  It  is  wise,  however,  to  say  that 
the  width  of  the  road  should  be  minimized  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  that  its  course  should  lead  directly  toward  a 


ROADS  AND  PATHS 


25 


definite  goal,  and  move  with  long  easy  curves ;  but  after 
that  is  said,  we  should  pause  and  await  the  presentment 
of  all  the  factors  that  enter  into  the  problem  before  de- 
ciding upon  the  line  to  be  taken.  It  is  a  wise  man  who 
uses  rules  when  he  needs  them,  and  is  not  slavishly  con- 
trolled by  them. 

Plan  on  page  28  shows  a  village  lot  properly  laid  out 
with  straight  lines,  with  not  a  curve  among  them,  and 
yet  we  have  recommended  the  use  of  forms  of  the  ellipse, 


BRANCHING  ROADS   IN   LARGE  PLACE,   ENTERING 
AT  RIGHT  ANGLES  TO  HIGHWAY 

so  it  is  evident  that  circumstances  must  always  control 
largely  in  any  scheme  or  system  of  roads  and  paths. 

The  value  of  the  contour  map  becomes  evident  when 
we  undertake  to  arrange  the  road  and  walk  system  of 
the  smallest  village  lot.  The  lines  as  seen  in  plan  on 
page  20  represent  circuit  lines  or  curves  of  the  surface 
of  the  ground  that  exist  at  a  uniform  level,  or,  in  more 
scientific  phrase,  intersections  of  the  surface  of  the 
ground  with  a  series  of  horizontal  planes  at  equal  dis- 
tances apart.  In  the  diagram  of  the  map  shown  on  page 


J 


26     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS. 

20  the  contour  lines  or  intersections  are  three  feet  apart. 
In  working  out  the  contours  of  the  ground  of  a  small 
place,  we  may  seem  to  be  taking  trouble  that  is  hardly 
necessary.  But  it  is  in  reality  a  sure  way  of  securing 
the  best  and  most  certain  results.  When  we  find  in  this 
way  that  a  road  cannot  be  carried  a  hundred  feet  on  a 
grade  less  than  ten  per  cent,  without  filling  in  earth,  we 
will  be  in  better  shape  to  solve  the  road  problem  than 
we  were  before  we  obtained  the  contour  map. 

If  we  work  out  from  the  contour  map  parallel  cross 
sections  of  the  proposed  roads  at  different  points,  and 
plot  these  sections  to  a  scale,  in  their  true  relative  posi- 


OPEN  CARRIAGE  TURN   ON   MEDIUM-SIZED  PLACE 


tions,  or  referred  to  the  same  level  or  datum  line,  it  will 
be  easy  to  locate  the  axis  of  the  roads  and  estimate  the 
quantities  of  excavation  and  embankment.  In  this  way 
it  is  often  possible  to  learn  that  the  fill  and  excavation 
can  be  made  exactly  to  balance  each  other,  a  fact  it 
would  not  be  possible  to  learn  in  any  other  way. 

By  taking  such  precautions  to  secure  an  intelligent 
plan  and  estimate  of  the  special  details  of  a  road  sys- 
tem, the  owner  of  a  village  lot  can  always  learn  what 
the  entire  undertaking  will  cost,  and  pursue  his  work  in 
a  sensible,  practical  manner.  Village  lots  have  been,  in 
the  author's  experience,  more  often  laid  out  with  a  lack 


ROADS  AND  PATHS 


27 


of  an  intelligent  plan  and  estimate  than  ordinary  country 
places  of  a  number  of  acres. 

It  is  difficult  to  decide  upon  a  standard  of  road  grades 
for  ordinary  places.  So  much  depends  on  the  kind  of 
vehicle  for  which  the  road  is  chiefly  intended,  on  the 
character  of  road  covering  used  for  the  surface,  and  on 
the  condition  in  which  the  surface  is  maintained.  The 
grade  should  not  be  so  great  as  to  require  the  applica- 
tion of  the  brakes  to  the  wheels  in  descending,  or  to  pre- 


OPEN   CARRIAGE  TURN   FOR  SMALL  PLACE 

vent  an  ordinary  vehicle  from  carrying  a  load  of  passen- 
gers with  horses  ascending  the  hill  at  a  trot.  Generally 
speaking,  the  grade  should  be  somewhat  less  than  the 
angle  of  repose,  or  that  angle  upon  which  the  vehicle  in 
a  state  of  rest  would  not  be  set  in  motion  by  its  own 
weight,  but  would,  on  slight  motion  being  imparted  to  it, 
descend  with  slow  uniform  velocity. 

In  practice,  the  steepest  grade  that  should  be  allowed 
>n  macadamized  or  telford  roads  such  as  are   gener- 


28   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

ally  used  on  country  places,  is  about  one  foot  in  twenty, 
or  five  per  cent.  It  is  entirely  practicable  to  use 
much  steeper  grades,  but  it  will,  probably,  be  done  only 
with  the  assistance  of  a  brake  going  down  hill  and  at 
the  expense  of  a  slow  walk  up  hill.  The  grades  one 
foot  in  thirty  feet,  or  one  foot  in  thirty-four  feet,  or 
about  three  per  cent.,  are  most  desirable,  because  then 
the  speed  ascending  need  never  be  slower  than  a  trot, 
and  descending  will  never  require  the  application  of  the 
brake. 

In  constructing  the  roads  of  a  place,  the  excavation 
and  embankments  at  once  call  for  attention,  for  on  them 
depends  the  preparation  of  the  roadbed  whereon  is  to 
rest  the  stone  structure  or  metal  of  the  road.  If  we 
are  not  so  fortunate  as  to  have  our  cuts  and  fills  balance 
each  other,  we  shall  be  obliged  to  cart  our  surplus  mate- 
rial to  the  nearest  point  we  can  find,  and  obtain  or  make 
convenient  places  from  which  to  cart  additional  soil.  In 
making  these  embankments  it  should  be  remembered  that 
different  kinds  of  earth  do  not  fill  the  same  space  in 
artificial  embankments  that  they  did  in  their  natural  bed. 
The  increase  in  volume  of  freshly  dug  earth  often  varies 
twenty  per  cent,  among  the  different  kinds;  but,  curious 
to  relate,  when  formed  into  embankments,  it  shrinks  to 
less  than  its  bulk  in  the  natural  bed. 

In  excavating  and  moving  earth,  it  is  first  loosened 
with  picks,  shovels,  or  plows — the  plow  is  very  useful 
— and  then  shoveled  into  carts  or  barrows  and  taken 
away.  For  short  haulage,  say  ninety  to  one  hundred 
feet,  the  ordinary  road  scraper,  holding  about  one-tenth 
of  a  cubic  yard,  will  be  found  useful.  It  is  not  profitable 
to  work  the  road  scraper  over  ground  that  is  steeper 
than  one  foot  in  five  feet,  or  twenty  per  cent.  For  dis- 


STREET 


VILLAGE  LOT,  EIGHT-TENTHS  OF  AN  ACRE,  WITH  OUTBUILDINGS 
AND  STRAIGHT  WALK  SYSTEM 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  31 

tance  exceeding  the  sphere  of  scrapers,  earth  is  generally 
conveyed  in  wheelbarrows.  The  limit,  when  one-horse 
carts  should  replace  barrows,  will  seldom  exceed  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  to  three  hundred  feet  for  all  the 
various  kinds  of  earth.  Beyond  a  certain  distance,  deter- 
mined largely  by  the  character  of  the  road  and  its  grade, 
two-horse  wagons  should  take  the  place  of  carts. 

Having  finally  adjusted  all  questions  of  grade,  excava- 
tions, and  embankments  with  the  assistance  of  the  con- 
tour map  and  experimental  lines  on  the  ground,  the 
course  of  the  road  adopted  should  be  carefully  plotted 
on  the  map,  together  with  cross  sections  that  will 
show  the  cuttings  and  fillings  as  well  as  the  natural  sur- 
face of  the  ground.  Specifications  of  the  different 
kinds  of  work,  and  drawings  of  drainage  and  pipe  lines, 
culverts,  etc.,  should  also  be  prepared.  The  center  of 
the  road  can  be  located  on  the  ground  that  will  corre- 
spond with  different  points  on  the  map.  Cut  and  fill 
should  be  marked  en  the  stakes  to  indicate  that  the  nat- 
ural surface  should  be  cut  down  or  filled  up  at  these 
points  in  order  to  secure  the  proper  grade  of  the  road. 
Stakes  showing  the  proper  width  of  the  road  should  also 
i  be  set.  All  this  work  of  planning  and  preparation  may 
seem  unnecessary  on  a  small  place  of  less  than  an  acre, 
but  it  will  be  found  to  fully  repay  the  trouble,  for  only 
by  making  proper  plans  and  specifications  can  'you  be 
sure  beforehand  of  good  construction. 

The  temptation  to  construct  steep  banks,  to  save  ex- 
pense, often  leads  to  much  trouble  in  droughts  and  heavy 
rains.  In  dry  weather  the  grass  is  especially  liable  to 
turn  brown  and  die  on  such  slopes,  and  rains  are  gener- 
ally apt  to  gully  any  slopes  that  are  steeper  than  f orty- 
ive  degrees,  or  one  foot  on  the  perpendicular  to  one  on 


32      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

the  horizontal.  Ordinarily  the  one-to-one  slope  is  steeper 
than  is  advisable,  and  one  and  a  half  to  one  is  considered 
as  steep  a  grade  as  should  be  given  banks.  The  sliding 
of  soil  on  a  steep  grade  may  be  largely  prevented  by  cov- 
ering it  with  a  foot  of  rich  mold  or  loam,  and  sodding  or 
seeding  with  grass  will  also  tend  to  make  it  still  more 
firm.  Sodding  for  slopes  is  greatly  to  be  preferred  to 
seeding  with  grass  seed.  A  steep  bank  may  be  strength- 
ened by  a  low  stone  wall  at  its  base  that  will  serve  to 
restrain  it  from  slipping. 

If  the  soil  of  the  bank  should  be  infested  with  springs 
which  would  be  liable  to  impair  the  firmness  of  the  slope, 
they  should,  if  practicable,  be  tapped  at  their  source, 
and  the  water  conveyed  by  stone  or  tile  drains  to  the 
gutters  along  the  road.  These  gutters  or  drains  should 
also  extend  along  the  top  of  the  embankment,  to  prevent 
the  water  from  coming  over  and  down  the  slope.  The 
cut  of  a  road  can  usually  be  made  to  equal  the  fill  by 
locating  it  in  just  the  right  place,  but  where  it  is  very 
steep,  say  forty-five  degrees,  or  one  to  one,  rough  dry 
retaining  walls  should  be  made  at  the  bottom  of  the 
embankment. 

Drains  will  often  be  required  at  a  little  distance  above 
the  cut  of  the  hillside  road.  If  the  road  should  run 
through  a  marsh  or  swamp  resting  on  a  firm  bottom,  the 
soft  material  should  be  dug  out,  provided  it  does  not 
exceed  three  or  four  feet  in  depth,  and  the  road  built 
directly  on  the  hard  soil.  Deep  open  ditches  should  be 
dug  on  either  side  of  the  road,  and  sometimes,  when  the 
neighboring  wet  land  is  especially  deep,  cross  drains 
under  the  road  at  frequent  intervals  become  necessary. 
The  drains  may  be  of  stone  or  tile.  When  the  marsh  is 
very  deep,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  build  under  the 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  33 

entire  roadbed  a  heavy  mass  made  of  bundles  of  twigs  or 
branches,  each  bunch  ten  inches  in  diameter  and  twenty 
feet  long.  These  bundles  are  laid  one  across  the  other, 
layer  after  layer,  until  the  top  layer  lies  transverse  to 
the  direction  of  the  road.  Usually  the  ditches  at  the 
side  of  the  road  are  made  open. 

The  waterways  of  culverts  should  be  large  enough  to 
take  the  greatest  volume  of  water  they  will  in  all  prob- 
ability be  required  to  carry  off .  Eighteen  inches,  or,  if 
their  shape  is  circular,  twenty  inches  in  diameter  will 
usually  suffice  for  this  purpose.  Small  culverts  are 
often  made  of  slabs  or  plank,  but  such  methods  are 
shiftless  and  are  not  to  be  commended. 

The  drainage  of  the  surface  of  the  road  on  ordinary 
places  is  generally  done  with  paving  blocks  of  granite, 
trap,  or  asphalt  composition  about  the  size  of  an  ordi- 
nary brick,  set  on  edge,  except  that  they  are  made  con- 
siderably thicker  in  order  to  bed  them  properly.  They 
are  laid  in  sand,  and  thoroughly  rammed  down  on  the 
foundation  or  metal  of  the  road,  which  should  be  in  all 
cases  carried  across  under  the  entire  gutters  so  as  to 
prevent  all  chances  of  the  gutters  settling.  These 
gutters  are  usually  made  fourteen  inches,  eighteen 
inches,  and  two  feet  wide,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
road.  A  slightly  concave  surface  should  always  charac- 
terize a  gutter,  but  the  mistake  is  often  made  of  hollow- 
ing them  out  too  deeply. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  gutters  would  be  of  little  use 
unless  they  were  connected  with  a  complete  drainage 
system,  through  road  basins  located  twenty-five  feet  to 
three  hundred  feet  apart,  into  drain  pipes  that  will  lead 
the  water  to  some  general  sewer  or  waterway.  But  it 
is  naturally  asked  by  many  who  have  moderate-sized 
3 


34     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

country  places  or  village  lawns.  Why  can  we  not  dispense 
with  these  gutters?  They  are  expensive,  and  are,  to  say 
the  least  against  them,  not  attractive  looking.  In  regard 
to  the  drainage,  the  pipes  and  road  basins,  the  author 
can  suggest  no  way  of  dispensing  with  them ;  the  water 
must  have  a  way  to  flow  off.  But  many  of  our  readers 
may  not  be  aware  that  there  is  such  a  device  as  a  sod 
gutter,  which,  if  properly  constructed  and  connected  with 
the  drainage  system,  will  perform  its  duty  quite  as  well 
as  the  ordinary  stone  gutter,  and  be  at  the  same  time 
more  attractive  and  economical.  The  trouble  with  sod 
gutters  generally  is  the  danger  of  gullies  forming  in 
them  by  sudden  floods  of  heavy  rain.  This  can  be  pre- 


CROSS  SECTION   OP  ROAD  WITH  SOD   GUTTERS 

vented  by  attending  to  thorough  ramming  of  small,  thick, 
strong  sods  on  a  gutter  that  has  only  dish  enough  to 
collect  the  water,  and,  in  practice,  it  will  be  found  that 
a  very  slight  concavity  will  accomplish  a  satisfactory 
result ;  but  this  all  presupposes  that  the  drainage  system 
established  is  perfected  with  field  basins  and  road  basins 
near  enough  together,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  other 
outlets,  to  properly  care  for  all  the  water  that  flows  from 
the  surface  of  the  road. 

It  is  often  a  good  idea  to  lay  two-and-a-half-inch  agri- 
cultural round  tile  without  collars  a  foot  under  the  low 
part  of  the  gutter,  to  lead  the  water  that  flows  from  the 
side  slopes  away  from  the  sod  gutters  and  the  roadbed 
to  the  basins  and  pipe  drainage  system.  It  is  wonderful 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  35 

to  find  how  perfectly  a  system  of  drainage  of  this  kind 
protects  the  road,  and  how  attractive  the  borders  appear 
when  compared  with  the  effect  of  the  ordinary  stone 
gutter.  It  may  be  said,  and  possibly  conceded,  that 
there  are  slopes  on  roads  so  steep  that  only  a  stone  gut- 
ter will  accomplish  satisfactory  drainage,  but  the  reader 
may  be  sure  that  there  are  very  few  grades  actually 
found  on  roads  whereon  the  sod- gutter  system  cannot 
be  used  satisfactorily  if  properly  and  skillfully  con- 
structed (see  page  34). 

So  far  as  the  width  of  roads  goes  in  large  cities,  it  is 
well  to  be  liberal.  One  hundred  feet  is  not  excessive 
for  streets  that  are  leading  arteries.  On  ordinary  coun- 
try roads,  however,  a  width  of  sixteen  to  seventeen  feet 
is  enough  for  the  actual  roadbed,  exclusive  of  gutters 
and  sidewalk — two  teams  can  readily  pass  on  this  width — 
and  on  village  lots,  roads  not  exceeding  thirteen  feet  or 
even  twelve  feet  wide  can  be  made  to  suffice,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  most  vehicles  have  an  extent  of  five  and  a 
half  feet  to  six  feet  from  the  outside  of  one  hub  to  the 
outside  of  the  other.  The  larger  the  place,  the  wider 
should  be  the  roads  up  to  the  point  where  it  is  felt  the 
harmony  and  picturesqueness  of  the  place  will  be  injured 
by  the  obtrusive  size  of  these  features,  which  must,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  detract  from  the  scenery,  and  should  be 
only  tolerated  because  they  are  necessary. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  among  experts  in 
regard  to  the  best  method  of  crowning  a  road.  By  one 
method  a  cross  section  of  the  road  is  made  to  exhibit  a 
convex  curve  or  a  semi-ellipse,  while  by  another,  bearing 
the  weight  of  testimony  in  its  favor,  two  equal  planes 
of  the  surface  slope  gently  to  the  side  gutters,  and  meet 
in  the  middle  by  a  short  connecting  flat  curve.  This 


36      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

method  will  lead  carriages  to  easily  drive  on  the  sides 
rather  than  on  the  middle,  where  collision  is  apt  to  occur, 
and  will  avoid  the  tendency  to  overturn  or  slide  side- 
ways near  the  gutters.  This  construction  may  be  de- 
scribed approximately  as  consisting  of  a  surface  which  is 
defined  by  two  straight  cross  lines  connected  by  a  flat 
arc  of  a  circle  on  a  road  which  in  ordinary  cases  should 
be  sixteen  feet  wide.  The  inclination  of  the  surface  from 
the  end  of  this  arc  to  the  gutter,  for  rough  earth  roads, 
should  be  one  foot  in  twenty  feet,  and  one  foot  in  thirty 
feet  for  ordinary  gravel  or  broken-stone  roads. 

It  is  evident  that  ordinary  earth  roads  without  a 
broken-stone  foundation  can  never  be  satisfactory  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year,  but  where  we  are  obliged,  on  account 
of  their  cheapness,  to  use  them,  we  should  remember 
that  attention  to  certain  features  of  construction  is 
always  important.  In  the  interest  of  good  drainage, 
the  ditches  along  the  sides  of  the  road  should  always  be 
kept  open,  and  sufficient  slope  given  to  allow  the  water 
to  run  freely.  Hollows  and  ruts  should  be  filled  up  as 
fast  as  they  are  formed,  and  the  customary  rounding  up 
of  the  surface  familiar  in  country  districts  avoided,  and, 
as  already  directed,  a  slope  made  from  the  center  to  the 
sides  that  will  not  exceed  one  foot  in  twenty  feet.  It 
should  be  needless  to  explain  that  earth  roads  above  all 
others  should  not  be  steep,  on  account  of  their  imperfect 
surface,  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  the  earth  road  that  gen- 
erally presents  the  heaviest  grades. 

We  find  another  hurtful  practice  common  in  the  treat- 
ment of  earth  as  well  as  stone-bottomed  roads,  and  that 
is  the  scraping  up  of  waste  material  for  use  on  the  trav- 
eled surface  of  the  highway.  It  is  important,  in  every 
case  of  repair  where  extra  material  is  needed,  to  secure 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  37 

fresh  gravel  or  broken  stone  that  has  been  properly 
screened  or  otherwise  prepared. 

Graveled  roads  have  been  found  to  be  well  suited  for 
country  places,  although  they  are  not  generally  as  reli- 
able at  all  seasons  as  those  made  of  broken  stone  and 
screenings.  The  clay  that  is  necessarily  left  in  the 
gravel  for  the  purpose  of  binding  it  will  always  tend,  in 
certain  seasons,  under  the  wheels  of  carriages,  to  grind 
into  mud.  It  is  difficult,  often,  to  secure  just  the  right 
kind  of  gravel  for  road-making,  for  clean  material  con- 
sisting of  round  pebbles  will  not  pack,  because  a  certain 
admixture  of  clay  and  some  angularity  of  the  stones  are 
necessary  to  secure  a  proper  bond.  It  has  been  found 
that  seaside  and  riverside  gravels  are  too  clean,  and 
ordinary  pit  gravel  is  too  dirty  or  clayey. 

By  using  two  wire  screens  of  the  proper  size  we  can 
secure  with  many  pit  products  what  has  been  found  to  be 
the  best  kind  of  gravel;  namely,  a  moderately  clean 
article  containing  no  stone  less  than  half  an  inch  in  dia- 
meter and  none  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half.  This  is 
done  by  placing  one  screen  above  the  other,  the  lower 
one  allowing  everything  smaller  than  half  an  inch  to  pass 
through  and  the  upper  one  retaining  everything  over  an 
inch  and  a  half.  It  is  no  objection,  and  rather  an  advan- 
tage to  the  screened  gravel,  that  considerable  clay  is 
sure  to  adhere  to  the  stones,  for  on  the  presence  of  this 
clay  depends  the  capacity  of  the  material  to  properly 
bind  together.  Much  skill  is  required  to  secure  just  the 
right  admixture  of  this  clay  in  order  to  prevent  as  much 
as  possible  both  mud  and  dust. 

On  ordinary  soil,  an  excavation  to  the  depth  of  ten  or 
twelve  inches  will  suffice  to  make  a  gravel  road,  and  you 
may,  in  dry  ground,  where  the  travel  is  light,  construct 


38      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

a  good  road  with  the  entire  twelve  inches  of  gravel ;  four 
inches  of  it  being  ordinary  pit  gravel,  and  then  two  four- 
inch  layers  of  double-screened  gravel,  each  in  turn  well 
rolled.  A  better  gravel  road  than  this  is  used  in  many 
private  and  public  places,  where  the  bottom  is  con- 
structed of  five  or  six  inches  of  broken  stone  of  equal 
size,  placed  regularly  by  hand  and  bedded  and  rolled, 
with  the  addition  on  top  of  four  or  five  inches  of  prop- 
erly screened  gravel,  also  well  rolled.  The  presence  of 
this  stone  at  the  bottom  makes  better  drainage  for  the 
road  than  if  it  all  consisted  of  gravel.  In  spring,  more- 
over, when  the  frost  is  coming  out  of  the  ground,  the 
clay  is  apt  to  work  to  the  surface  and  create  more  mud 
where  the  stone  foundation  is  lacking  than  where  it  is 
not. 

It  may  seem  to  require  a  great  deal  of  work  to  build  a 
road  of  this  kind,  but,  when  done,  it  is  without  question 
superior  to  the  ordinary  gravel  road,  which  is  made  by 
heaping  unscreened  gravel  three  to  four  inches  deep  over 
a  width  of  eight  or  nine  feet,  with  perhaps  six  or  ten 
inches  under  the  wheels.  There  is  sure  to  be  plenty  of 
mud  and  ruts  on  such  roads,  and,  consequently,  continual 
need  of  repair.  To  make  sure  of  a  thoroughly  solid 
foundation  of  stone,  care  should  be  taken  to  keep  the 
fragments  of  nearly  equal  size,  and  to  chink  in  between 
them  slivers  or  spalls. 

Mention  has  been  made  on  several  occasions  of  the 
importance  of  rolling  a  road  at  various  stages  of  its  con- 
struction, and  it  needs  explaining,  in  connection  with  the 
rolling,  that  at  first  water  should  be  sprinkled  in  compar- 
atively small  quantities  on  the  surface,  increasing  the 
amount  gradually,  until  the  finishing  strokes  are  given  in 
floating  water  rising  in  a  small  wave  before  the  roller. 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  39 

The  roller  should  be  started  at  the  side  of  the  road,  thus 
pushing,  as  the  roller  moves  back  and  forth,  all  the  sur- 
face material  more  or  less  toward  the  center.  Skillful 
and  persistent  rolling,  sometimes  for  weeks  together, 
constitutes  a  large  part  of  the  secret  of  the  construc- 
tion of  a  good  road,  whether  it  be  made  of  gravel  or 
broken  stone  and  screenings. 

A  pernicious  way  of  building  roads  is  often  adopted 
by  spreading  a  thick  layer  of  clayey  loam  on  top  of  the 
rubble  or  stone  foundation,  to  make  what  is  termed  a 
cushion.  The  difficulty  with  this  kind  of  work  is  that 
clay  is  liable  to  work  in  large  quantities  to  the  actual 
surface  of  the  road,  and  allow  holes  to  form  by  settle- 
ment. A  reason  for  the  popularity  of  this  so-called 
cushion  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  it  is  easy,  in  this 
way,  to  fill  with  earth,  cheaply  and  readily,  the  inter- 
stices of  the  stones  which  should  have  been  chinked  up 
with  slivers  and  chips. 

A  good  rule  has  been  laid  down,  which  may  be  modi- 
fied by  circumstances,  as  all  rules  must  be,  whereby  a 
road  shall  have  a  depth  of  foundation  of  rubble  or  telf ord 
of  not  less  than  one-half  and  not  more  than  two-thirds 
of  the  entire  thickness  of  the  road  covering.  In  this 
way  a  road  excavated  nine  or  ten  inches  deep  may  have 
a  foundation  of  large  stones  six  inches  thick,  while  seven 
or  eight  inches  would  not  be  too  heavy  for  a  road  exca- 
vated twelve  inches  deep.  The  difficulty  with  a  road, 
the  foundation  of  which  is  not  sufficiently  bedded  and 
chinked  with  chips  and  spalls,  is  that  a  heavily  loaded 
vehicle  is  liable  to  tilt  up  one  of  these  imperfectly  bedded 
stones,  and  thereby  render  necessary  the  reconstruction 
o.f  the  entire  driveway  at  that  point.  The  foundation 
stone  should  be  of  as  nearly  equal  size  as  possible,  vary- 


40      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

ing,  according  to  the  depth  of  the  road,  from  three  to 
six  inches  deep  and  eight  to  twelve  inches  long. 

Shell  roads  are  valued  for  sandy  soil,  and  do  well  for 
light  traffic,  but  they  need  constant  repair  and  renewal. 

The  best  treatment  of  footpaths  will  be  found,  in  the 


STRE  ET 


VILLAGE  LOT,   ONE-HALF  OP  AN   ACRE,   WITH  STRAIGHT  WALKS 

main,  nearly  the  same  as  that  we  have  been  advocating 
for  roads,  although  they  need  never  be  as  thick  and  solid. 
Gravel  and  broken  stone  are,  it  is  generally  found,  suffi- 
ciently dry  for  walking,  and  the  tone  of  color  of  such 
walks  is  more  agreeable  to  the  eye  than  that  of  asphalt 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  41 

or  brick.  On  village  sidewalks,  it  is  needless  to  say,  the 
asphalt  and  bricks  are  to  be  preferred. 

It  is  a  good  idea  to  lay  a  row  of  sods  along  path  and 
road  borders,  as  it  is  not  practicable  to  get  firm  edges 
by  means  of  grass  seed.  So  far  as  the  paths  are  con- 
cerned on  a  country  place,  they  should  be  run  entirely 
independent  of  the  grade  of  the  roads,  although  their 
course  may  be  near  them.  Diversity  of  surface  is  gen- 
erally agreeable,  and  it  is  entirely  unnecessary  to  seek 
parallelism,  or  even  similarity  of  level  and  course,  in  the 
construction  of  lawns  and  roads  and  paths.  The  only 
thing  to  avoid  in  design  is  the  close  approach  of  roads 
and  paths,  whereby  the  ground  is  forced  to  assume  the 
shape  of  very  steep  banks. 

The  mistake  is  often  made  of  allowing  the  road  to 
continue  a  long  time  in  a  bad  condition,  which  always 
involves  more  actual  expense  when  the  work  is  finally 
taken  up.  Day-by-day  maintenance,  it  is  evident,  will 
either  prevent  disintegration  of  the  road  surface,  or 
will,  by  incessant  work,  prevent  the  extension  of  injuries 
that  would  grow  to  serious  dimensions  in  the  course  of 
time.  The  prevention  of  wear  and  tear  is,  we  will  find, 
attained  to  a  large  degree  by  sprinkling  with  water  the 
smooth  surface  of  roads,  thereby  laying  the  dust,  and 
helping  to  hold  firm  the  cementing  or  binding  quality  of 
the  road.  The  sprinkling  should  be  given  lightly,  so  as 
not  to  create  mud  and  ruts.  The  best  sprinkling  carts 
are  those  that  can  be  made  to  distribute  water  evenly 
and  lightly,  for  it  is  easy  enough  to  make  a  cart  that 
will  sprinkle  heavily. 

Good  maintenance,  also,  naturally  requires  continual 
attention  to  open  ditches,  gutters,  roads,  walk  basins, 
and  drains  of  all  kinds,  and,  above  all,  attention  should  be 


42      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

given,  day  by  day,  to  the  minute  repairs  of  small  patches 
that  are  intended  to  fill  up  all  depressions  and  ruts  as 
soon  as  they  present  themselves.  In  this  way,  the  road 
can  be  kept  undiminished  in  thickness  for  an  indefinite 
period.  The  repairs  should  be  so  managed  as  to  expose 
the  road,  whether  gravel  or  broken  stone,  slightly  to 
view,  without  laying  it  bare  or  removing  the  binding  ma- 
terial from  around  the  stones  at  the  surface.  This  may 
be  done  by  men  suitably  provided  with  hoes,  stiff  brooms 
set  at  right  angles  to  the  handles,  shovels,  and  wheeK 

STREET 


FORMAL  ENTRANCE  OF  LARGE  PLACE 

barrows.  Machine  scrapers  and  brooms  of  various  kinds 
drawn  by  horses  have  to  be  used  with  great  care,  to 
prevent  injury  to  the  roads  by  loosening  the  top  stones. 
A  certain  amount  of  detritus,  or  binding  material,  should 
be  left  on  the  road,  and  frequent  rolling  in  the  spring  of 
the  year  will  help  to  make  solid  the  surface  that  has 
worn  loose  during  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  frost  and 
travel  of  winter.  To  maintain  a  road  properly  on  even 
the  smallest  place,  the  rolling  should  be  carried  on  sys- 
tematically at  regular  periods  all  through  the  year,  but 
more  especially  in  spring,  just  after  the  frost  has  dis- 
appeared from  the  ground. 


ROADS  AND  PATHS  43 

The  importance  of  systematic  maintenance  seems  to 
be  understood  tolerably  well  in  the  case  of  lawns,  but 
with  roads  it  appears  to  be  different.  To  carry  out  the 
work  of  maintaining  roads  properly,  a  laborer  should  be 
given  charge  of  an  allotted  length  of  road,  on  the  block 
system,  for  the  proper  repair  and  cleanliness  of  which  he 
should  be  held  responsible.  His  duty  should  consist  in 
keeping  the  road  always  scraped  clean,  and  free  from 
mud,  and  in  filling  in  ruts  or  hollows,  the  moment  they 
appear,  with  broken  stone  or  gravel  brought  from  a  stor- 
age place  near  by. 

On  all  repairs  of  roads,  as  much  of  the  old,  but  not 

STREE-T 


TREATMENT  OP  ENTRANCE  GATE  AND  LODGE 

waste,  material  should  be  used  as  possible,  the  object 
being  to  unite  in  bond  the  old  material  with  the  new,  so 
that  the  patch  will  be  as  little  unlike  the  unrepaired  por- 
tion as  possible.  Experience  will  soon  enable  the  laborer 
to  judge  when  the  old  material  is  too  much  worn  to  use 
again.  In  making  these  repairs  a  roller  is  very  useful, 
although  excellent  work  can  be  done  on  broken-stone 
roads  with  a  rammer  weighing  twelve  to  twenty  pounds. 
The  wheel  tracks  should  be  promptly  obliterated  and 
filled  in,  and  the  new  stone,  that  has  just  been  applied 
wherever  it  is  needed,  should  be  covered  with  fine 
material  and  rammed  and  rolled  in  with  the  help  of  a 


44     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GHOUNDS 

light  sprinkling  of  water.  Moderate  sprinkling  in  dry 
weather  is  especially  necessary  to  keep  the  road  in  order, 
as  the  drought  bakes  the  surface  and  makes  it  wear 
away  faster,  and  sometimes  loosens  the  small  stones. 

To  construct  a  good  road  requires  skill  and  knowledge 
of  the  comparative  value  of  different  materials,  but  to 
maintain  it  properly  through  many  years  renders  neces- 
sary an  exertion  of  skill  combined  with  intelligent,  per- 
sistent diligence  that  is  not,  in  this  country,  as  often 
exhibited  as  we  should  like  to  see  ii. 


LAWNS 

IN  the  eyes  of  most  people  who  have  had  no  experi- 
ence of  their  own  in  these  matters,  an  open  stretch 
of  turf  is  a  comparatively  blank  space  that  offers 
itself  more  or  less  strenuously  for  occupation,  as  is  ex- 
emplified by  the  frequent  efforts  of  citizens  to  employ 
park  meadows  for  public  shows,  race  courses,  and  mena- 
geries. It  would  really  seem  as  if  an  open  lawn,  with  all 
its  beautiful  expanse  of  turf,  emerald-hued  and  cloud- 
shadowed,  would  impress  wholesome-minded  human  be- 
ings as  something  more  than  a  neglected  opportunity 
for  some  building,  glass  house,  or  flower  garden;  but 
everything  depends  on  the  standpoint  from  which  one 
looks  at  a  question.  If  one  is  thinking  of  deer  paddocks 
or  flower  gardens,  a  vacant  piece  of  grass  suggests  only 
the  opportunity  for  promoting  the  favored  object.  If 
the  eyes  of  ordinary  observers  can  be  brought  to  dwell 
on  grass  space  as  a  strictly  beautiful  object  which  they 
ought  to  be  able  to  appreciate,  open  meadows  will  soon 
become  for  them  also  supremely  valuable  possessions. 

After  falling  for  a  while  under  the  spell  of  their  gen- 
tle and  quiet  pastoral  charm,  one  will  feel  that  the  very 
heart  of  the  landscape  picture  lies  within  the  tender 
green  space,  the  delicate  refined  quality  of  which  has, 


46     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

just  because  it  is  refined,  escaped  observation,  and  that 
is  why  the  author  places  the  lawn  next  in  importance  to 
the  house.  Indeed,  the  arrangement  of  trees  and  shrubs 
performs  its  special  office  when  it  serves  to  develop  and 
heighten  the  attractions  of  the  lawn.  When  one  thinks 
of  the  true  function  of  the  lawn,  the  vision  arises  of  a 
masterly  painted  canvas  whereon  are  depicted  moving 
cloud  shadows,  waving  grass,  rich  patches  of  dark  and 
light  green,  studded  with  the  starry  radiance  of  the 
humble  flora  of  the  grass,  and  the  ^hundred  incidents  of 
blazing  or  subdued  color  and  form  that  appear  on  the 
surface  of  an  open  meadow. 

The  outline  and  variegated  boundary  and  frame  of  all 
this  loveliness  is  the  trees  and  shrubs,  the  varied  masses 
of  which  serve  to  emphasize  and  reveal  the  most  evasive 
charms  of  the  territory.  The  concealment  of  the  roads 
and  walks  by  various  tree  and  shrub  devices  seems  the 
more  necessary  the  longer  we  contemplate  the  special 
beauty  of  the  lawn,  and  feel  the  less  fine  quality  inherent 
in  roads,  which  have  value  mainly  because  roads  are  nec- 
essary for  the  proper  enjoyment  of  the  place. 

It  is  around  and  about  the  house  that  the  open  expanse 
of  lawn  performs  its  most  important  function  (see 
page  47),  lending  such  dignity  and  effective  presence  to 
the  building  that,  unless  some  special  peculiarity  of  the 
ground  prevents,  it  is  the  lawn  that  secures  the  most 
admirable  and  rational  setting  for  the  house.  For  a 
similarly  deduced  reason,  on  comparatively  flat  terri- 
tory, the  erection  of  the  house  on  a  lawn  rising  partly 
in  terrace  shape  gives  the  home  a  distinction  that  adds 
greatly  to  its  attractiveness.  The  use  of  the  terrace 
effect  needs  handling  with  extreme  skill  and  care.  The 
proportions,  shape,  and  construction  of  terraces,  formal 


LAWNS 


47 


or  otherwise,  on  nigged  hillsides  will  have  to  be  man- 
aged with  good  judgment  and  adroitness.  It  is  so  easy 
to  do  violence  to  the  most  attractive  suggestions  of  the 
ground  itself. 


STREET 


VILLAGE  LOT,   ONE-THIRD  OF    AN  ACRE,   WITH  OPEN  LAWN,  OVER- 
LOOKING FINE  SOUTHWEST  VIEW 

Many  devices  of  curving  banks  and  irregular  low 
aasses  of  shrubs  may  be  so  employed  as  to  produce 
he  effect  of  a  terrace,  without  disturbing  the  essential 
haracter  of  the  region.  Whereas,  by  setting  flower 
eds  and  specimen  plants  here  and  there,  just  because 


48      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

one  likes  flowers  or  rare  plants,  is  pretty  surely  apt 
to  work  to  the  detriment  of  the  effect  of  the  general 
expanse  of  the  lawn.  Haphazard  and  unformulated 
planting,  whether  thick  or  slight,  is  sure  to  work  against 


CONTOUR  MAP  OP  SAME  VILLAGE  LOT,   ONE-THIRD  OP  AN  ACRE 


simplicity  and  beauty.  Of  course,  fine  single  speci- 
mens of  trees  and  shrubs  may  find  points  suitable  to 
receive  them  near  the  house,  and  so  may  flowers,  but 
the  choice  of  their  place  must  be  indicated  by  the  nature 
of  the  ground  in  that  special  neighborhood.  In  a  general 


LAWNS  49 

way,  they  had  best  be  kept  some  distance  away,  or 
located  near  some  mass  of  foliage,  so  as  not  to  mar  the 
open  character  of  the  space  which  is  really  the  heart  of 
the  home  grounds. 

As  the  expanse  of  turf  leaves  the  house,  the  spread 
and  breadth  of  the  lawn  should,  if  possible,  increase.  It 
is  wonderful  how,  on  a  very  small  place,  the  landscape  idea 
being  kept  strictly  in  view,  the  most  picturesque  effect 
can  be  obtained  by  a  few  skillfully  arranged  shrubs  and 
trees  and  a  skillfully  graded  lawn. 

By  undulating  the  surface  of  the  lawn  toward  the  trees 
and  shrubs  on  either  side,  and  keeping  the  planting  ter- 
ritory elevated,  and  grouping  the  bordering  foliage  into 
points  and  bays  of  green,  pictures  can  be  created  upon  a 
limited  space  that  would  delight  the  eye  of  a  painter. 

The  grading  of  the  lawn  is  a  delicate  operation.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  grade  a  lot  level,  or  sufficiently  level  for 
good  effect,  the  production  of  a  mathematical  level 
seing  practically  impossible,  but  where  the  difficulty 
commences  is  when  nice  modelling  of  the  surface  of  a 
territory  is  directly  suggested  by  the  natural  scooped- 
out  character  of  the  ground.  The  thing  to  do  is  to 
catch  the  idea  of  the  slope  and  swing  of  the  ground,  and 
instead  of  trying  to  make  it  more  level,  to  rather  accen- 
tuate the  dip  of  the  general  curve  of  the  surface  exactly 
in  the  trend  and  direction  suggested  by  the  surrounding 
land.  The  general  curve  should  be  made,  of  course, 
continuous,  and  all  little  hills  and  hollows  smoothed  out 
into  one  suave  and  well-modeled  valley-***-^ 

Low,  marshy  ground  may  be  often  drained  dry  instead 

of  being  raised  higher  with  earth  filling,  and  rock  masses 

draped  with  vines  and  planted  with  low  shrubs  instead 

of  being  blasted  away.     In  this  manner,  the  lawn  and 

4 


50   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

other  parts  of  the  place  may  be  often  brought  into  har- 
monious relations  without  sacrificing  a  bit  of  the  origi- 
nal charm  of  the  surface  of  the  territory. 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  amiss  at  this  time  to  further 
explain  the  position  taken  above,  by  reducing  the  theory 
of  primal  arrangement  to  the  following  simple  terms, 
provided  they  are  made  subject  to  considerable  modifica- 
tions that  circumstances  may  render  necessary.  Given 
an  open  lawn,  and  a  house,  and  a  plantation  of  trees  and 
shrubs  on  the  boundaries,  and  the  place  will  be  essen- 
tially complete.  The  roads  and  paths  simply  serve  to 
link  these  features  conveniently  together,  and  being  no 
integral  part  of  the  artistic  or  pictorial  design  of  the 
place,  should  therefore  be  screened  and  kept  out  of 
sight  as  much  as  possible,  and  run  where  they  can  be  on 
one  side  and  go  through  the  bordering  plantations. 

After  all,  there  should  be  allowance  made  for  the 
peculiarities  of  different  places,  which  have  to  be  met  in 
different  ways,  but  when  we  come  to  the  actual  construc- 
tion of  the  lawn,  the  preparation  of  the  ground  and  its 
enrichment  and  see^ding,  the  practical  operations  must 
be  carried  on  according  to  certain  tolerably  well-fixed 
rules.  i 

Depth  of  cultivation,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  will  be 
found  to  be  almost  indispensable  to  the  creation  of  good 
sod,  and  every  pound  of  superphosphate  of  lime,  bone- 
dust,  or  well-rotted  manure — amounting  to,  say,  a  maxi- 
mum of  a  ton  of  phosphate  of  lime  or  bone-dust,  and 
fifty  tons  of  manure  to  the  acre — will  make  itself  evi- 
dent in  good  results.  The  exact  amount  that  it  will  be 
found  profitable  to  apply  will  naturally  depend  on  the 
kind  of  soil  intended  for  its  reception.  It  may  seem  un- 
necessary that  this  advice  concerning  the  liberal  appli- 


LAWNS  51 

cation  of  soil  and  manure,  which  has  been  familiar  to 
cultivators  almost  since  man  tilled  the  soil,  should  be  re- 
peated so  strenuously,  but  in  spite  of  its  familiarity  the 
subject  needs,  in  all  seriousness,  dwelling  on  again  and 
again,  and  year  by  year,  and  probably  will  require  it  as 
long  as  the  attempt  to  make  lawns  continues  to  be  made. 

The  application  of  the  fertilizers  should  be  made,  and 
fche  ground  plowed  and  harrowed  or  raked,  just  before 
the  grass  seed  is  sown,  unless  the  additional  precaution 
is  taken,  especially  on  old  sod  ground,  to  give  the  land  a 
coat  of  manure  a  year  before,  and  secure  its  full  effect, 
and  also  a  desirable  condition  of  tilth  and  destruction 
of  old  sod  by  the  cultivation  of  a  potato  or  corn  crop. 
When  the  ground  is  tilled  and  manured,  the  choice  of  the 
grass  seed  to  be  used  should  be  made  with  the  greatest  care. 

Notoriously,  grass  seed  is  apt  to  be  full  of  weeds  and 
chaff,  and  the  very  best  quality  is  therefore  cheap  at 
what  may  even  seem  an  exorbitant  price.  It  is  better 
to  buy  the  cleanest  and  best  red  top  or  blue  grass  or 
bent  grass,  and  either  mix  or  use  them  alone.  They  are 
strong-growing  grasses,  and  will  very  likely  outgrow,  in 
a  short  time,  any  more  attractive  but  weaker  varieties 
that  the  seedmen  may  wish  to  mix  with  them.  There  is 
much  still  to  be  accomplished  in  securing  vigorous  vari- 
eties of  well-known  grass  seed  that  will  endure  drought 
and  shade  on  both  sandy  and  clay  soils.  Old  fields  of 
meadow  land  have  been  found  by  such  investigators  as 
James  B.  Olcott,  of  Manchester,  Conn.,  prolific  sources  of 
valuable,  hardy,  and  strong-growing  varieties  of  grasses, 
and,  the  field  for  discovery  in  this  direction  is  wide,  ex- 
tending, as  it  does,  from  Australia  to  England. 

The  operation  of  sowing  grass  seed  needs  to  be  done 
skillfully  and  carefully,  and  at  a  time  of  the  day  when 


52      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

the  wind  is  light.  It  is  well  to  sow  such  seed  liberally 
to  make  a  good  lawn.  Six  bushels  of  blue-grass  seed 
to  the  acre  may  seem  excessive,  but  it  will  hardly  be 
considered  so  when  we  realize  how  large  a  portion  of  any 
sowing  of  grass  seed  will  probably  fail  to  germinate. 
Important  as  highly  tilled  ground  may  be  to  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  soil  for  grass  seed,  the  quicker  it  is  com- 
pacted, and  kept  firm,  the  better  will  be  the  results.  It 
is  for  this  reason  the  heavy  two-horse  roller  works  so 
well  when  it  is  passed  frequently  over  ground  that  has 
been  recently  sown  with  grass  seed,  and  raked  over  with 
a  fine-toothed  rake.  Rain  helps  still  further  by  also 
compressing  the  soil  as  well  as  by  moistening  it.  As 
soon  as  the  grass  grows  an  inch  or  two,  or  as  soon  as  the 
mowing  machine  will  cut  it,  this  operation,  frequently 
applied,  tends  to  thicken  the  sok,  or  body  of  the  grass, 
and  also,  at  the  same  time,  to  destroy  young  and  threat- 
ening weeds. 

The  frequent  cutting  of  grass  in  dry  weather  often 
weakens  it  seriously,  and  allows  the  vigorous  summer 
weeds  to  get  the  upper  hand,  and  therefore,  during  the 
first  summer,  it  is  a  good  idea  to  weed  the  lawn  contin- 
ually until  the  grass  takes  possession  of  the  ground. 
Care  and  diligence  in  watering  and  weeding  a  lawn,  at 
this  stage  of  its  development,  will  tend  to  ensure  final 
results  of  the  most  important  character.  So  far  as  the 
culture  and  care  of  the  lawn  and  garden,  respectively, 
go,  there  should  be  little  difference  made  during  the  first 
year.  Indeed,  the  author  is  not  sure  that  it  will  not  pay 
to  give  the  lawn  the  most  attention,  for  one  may  be  sure 
that  the  lawn  will  have  a  long  future  before  it,  the 
success  of  which  largely  depends  on  intelligent  treatment 
in  the  beginning. 


FLOWER  GARDENS 

THE  well-known  Hanging  Gardens  of  Babylon,  the 
Garden  Parks  of  the  Persians,  the  villa  Gardens 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  prove  that  back  in 
the  ages,  as  far  as  historical  records  can  help  us  to 
reach,  the  desire  in  the  hearts  of  men  for  gardens  has 
been  strongly  felt  and  superbly  gratified.  Since  the 
early  periods  of  history,  men  have  sought  to  build  for 
themselves  homes  and  palaces  with  architectural  and 
sculptural  adornment;  while  building  temples  to  their 
gods,  they  have  not  failed  to  devise  gardens  for  their 
own  delight.  Yet  it  is,  nevertheless,  a  curious  fact 
that  the  development  of  the  gardening  art  did  not  keep 
pace  with  the  other  arts.  As  far  as  it  is  possible  for  us 
to  know,  and  we  can  learn  much,  since  there  are  abun- 
dant records,  the  arrangement  of  early  gardens  was  arti- 
ficially formed,  being  largely  devoid  of  suggestions  of 
sympathy  for  nature  in  any  of  her  free  manifestations. 
And  while  formal  gardens  were  not  as  perfect  of  design 
in  the  days  of  the  Persians  and  Romans  as  in  the  cele- 
brated later  period  of  the  Renaissance,  the  beauty  of 
these  later  villas  depended  also  too  much  on  the  archi- 
tectural adornment ;  the  variety  of  the  trees  and  flowers 
was  small,  and  the  general  arrangement  and  scheme  of 


54      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

the  walks  and  grouping  of  plants  and  trees  were  always 
artificial.  To  us  men  of  to-day,  who  have  given  serious 
attention  to  the  subject,  it  is  given  to  know  that  gar- 
dening cannot  be  successful  where  nature  is  left  out  of 
the  question. 

It  is  another  curious  fact  that  most  of  our  best  varie- 
ties of  ornamental  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbaceous  plants 
have  appeared,  or  else  have  become  known,  within  the 
space  of  a  couple  of  centuries.  Although  roses  and 
other  well-known  flowers  have  been  grown  for  ages,  the 
minds  of  landscape  designers  were  not,  except  recently, 
turned  in  the  direction  of  their  best  use.  While  the 
minds  of  professional  men  were  working  for  ages  toward 
the  highest  as  well  as  the  most  rational  development  of 
sculpture  and  architecture,  the  artistic  profession  of 
landscape  gardening  did  not  exist.  No  names  of  land- 
scape gardeners  and  horticulturists  have  come  down  to 
us  from  long  ago,  whereas  sculptors  and  architects  have 
been  deified  in  history  and  story  for  thousands  of  years. 
To-day,  on  the  other  hand,  the  names  of  some  of  the  men 
who  grow  new  plants  and  design  gardens  are  as  well 
known  as  those  of  architects. 

Lord  Bacon  probably  realized  the  relative  standing  of 
these  arts  with  great  precision  when  he  said,  in  his  essay 
on  gardening,  that  ' t  A  man  shall  ever  see,  that  when 
ages  grow  to  civility  and  elegancy,  men  come  to  build 
stately  sooner  than  to  garden  finely,  as  if  gardening  were 
the  greatest  perfection. "  Whether  gardening  be  a 
greater  perfection  or  not,  the  art  of  gardening  in  this 
century  has  been  brought  to  an  infinitely  higher  state 
of  perfection  than  it  has  ever  been  before,  and  in  the 
last  fifty  years  we  have  made  such  great  strides  that  the 
forecast  of  the  future  indicates  the  probability  of  an 


FLOWER  GARDENS  55 

advancement  of  the  art  to  an  extent  of  which  we  can 
hardly  form  an  adequate  conception. 

As  the  number  of  those  practising  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening  in  an  earnest,  serious,  and  dignified  way  is  the 
best  indication  of  substantial  advance,  a  rapidly  increas- 
ing gathering  of  thoroughly  equipped  men  who  have 
devoted  themselves  with  a  single  mind  to  landscape  gar- 
dening can  be  pointed  to  in  many  notable  cities  of  this 
and  other  countries.  It  is  because  it  is  a  democratic 
art,  one  which  makes  its  appeal  to  the  great  masses 
instead  of  to  the  few  only,  that  gardening,  as  we  under- 
stand it,  is  in  such  thorough  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of 
our  democratic  age. 

The  sum  and  substance  of  these  reflections  bring  us  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  field  of  genuine  gardening  art  is 
so  widely  open  to  us  that  we  need  not  be  awed  by  the 
great  examples  of  garden-making  done  in  past  time,  for 
the  more  we  study,  the  more  we  realize  that  the  recorded 
facts  do  not  bear  out  the  belief  that  gardening  designs 
have  been  done  in  the  past  as  well  as  they  are  done  to- 
day, and  that  the  study,  therefore,  of  old  examples  of  the 
Italian  villas  and  gardens,  and  even  illustrations  of  much 
later  French  and  German  parks  and  country  places,  is 
becoming  less  important  in  the  light  of  the  larger  the- 
ory of  landscape  gardening  which  seeks  to  produce  a 
beautiful,  because  primarily  sensible,  arrangement  of  the 
present  development  of  flowers,  trees,  shrubs,  and  lawns. 

In  old  times  they  did  not  have  these  advantages  of 
superior  lawn  planting  material,  nor  did  they  have,  ap- 
parently, any  idea  of  the  importance  of  making  a  sensible 
design  for  arranging  the  different  beauties  and  conven- 
iences of  home  grounds,  so  that  each  part  would  be 
properly  related  to  the  others,  and  the  garden  take  its 


56      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

duly  apportioned  place  and  not  absorb  the  features  of 
the  lawn.  It  should  not  be  understood,  however,  that 
precedent  is  to  be  undervalued  here  any  more  than  else- 
where, but  it  means  that  we  should  welcome  suggestions 
from  all  sources,  ancient  and  modern,  plucking  from  the 
old  masters  that  which  is  rational  and  good.  We  can 
and  must  create,  and  never  servilely  copy.  We  are  able 
to  do  better  work  than  has  ever  been  done  before,  not 
because  we  refuse  to  be  enslaved  by  the  rules  and  expe- 
rience of  other  days  and  centuries,  but  primarily  because 
we  have  taken  to  heart  the  lessons  Nature  is  giving  us  all 
about  us. 

The  treatment  of  each  subject,  whether  a  suburban  lot, 
a  park,  or  a  large  estate,  according  to  the  special  condi- 
tion of  climate,  country  topography,  etc.,  that  exists— 
this  is  our  fundamental  principle,  and  cheerfully  we  give 
up  all  preconceived  and  cherished  thoughts  or  theories 
as  to  the  exclusive  beauty  of  design  of  the  English, 
French,  or  German  traditional  style.  The  conditions  be- 
longing to  the  house  and  the  surroundings  furnish  just 
the  right  data  for  inspiration  and  guidance.  Why  go 
far  afield  for  learned  examples  to  copy?  We  accept 
all  right  suggestions,  but  want  no  trammels  of  tradi- 
tion. 

It  is  this  simple  instinct  for  the  convenient  and  fitting 
that  makes  the  old  colonial  gardens  of  New  England 
homes  such  fine  specimens,  so  nearly  perfect  in  their 
natural,  home-like  beauty.  It  is  true,  they  seem  entirely 
unconscious  of  any  excellence  of  artistic  superiority. 
They  exist  where  they  are,  because  they  are  convenient 
to  the  house,  and  do  not  interfere  with  the  other  neces- 
sary features  of  the  grounds.  The  walks  are  bordered 
with  box,  because  it  is  simple  and  pretty,  and  easily 


FLOWER  GARDENS  57 

grown,  and  the  roses  and  hollyhocks  stand  where  it  is 
convenient  to  pick  their  flowers,  and  where  they  do  not 
prevent  readily  reaching  the  fruit  trees  and  currant 
bushes  which  seem  to  be  necessary  to  old-fashioned  gar- 
dens ;  and  yet  we  would  not  wish  our  readers  to  imitate 
these  gardens  as  they  stood  a  generation  ago,  and  as  a 
few  stand  now  in  their  sweet  wholesome  plenitude  of 
charm,  any  more  than  we  should  copy  in  America  the 
designs  of  Italian  villa  gardens,  which  are  altogether 
attractive  where  they  are,  in  their  environment  of  clas- 
sical nature  and  ancient  ruins.  We  should  make  our 
gardens  in  the  way  of  our  day  and  country.  Our  great 
painters  do  not  imitate  Raphael  or  Rembrandt.  They 
speak  for  themselves  out  of  the  fullness  of  their  experi- 
ence and  feelings,  and  they  speak  to  us,  their  contempo- 
raries, so  that  we  understand  and  appreciate  them. 
They  are  of  our  day,  and  talk  our  language. 

Approaching  the  subject  of  garden-making  in  this 
spirit,  we  therefore  see  that  the  garden  cannot  be  always 
made  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  formal  theories ; 
neither  must  it  drop  into  the  other  extreme  and  become 
some  kind  of  haphazard  affair  of  vegetables  invaded  by 
riotous  clumps  of  flowers.  The  vegetable  garden,  though 
ever  so  small,  will  have  its  own  separate  domain,  and  the 
flower  garden  its  alloted  place.  The  size  and  proportion 
of  the  space  given  the  flower  garden  will  be  governed 
not  only  by  the  pleasure  of  the  house,  but  also  by  the 
amount  of  space  that,  in  view  of  the  apparent  physical 
and  aesthetic  necessities,  should  evidently  attach  to  the 
lawn  and  vegetable  garden.  For  instance,  a  place  of 
half  an  acre  may  readily  have  one-fifth  of  its  space  given 
up  to  a  flower  garden  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  while  on 
a  place  of  twenty  acres  or  more,  one  acre  would  make  a 


58   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

large  garden,  so  large  that  it  would  need  to  be  isolated 
and  screened  in  some  retired  part  of  the  place.  There  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  not  get  glimpses  of  a  flower 
garden  from  points  of  the  landscape  more  or  less  distant, 
but  it  should  seldom  be  allowed  to  make  a  distinct  and 
marked  feature  of  the  landscape,  with  which  it  is  not  apt 
to  be  in  entire  harmony.  Hence,  we  should  seek  to 
screen  it  somewhat  by  a  stone  wall,  masses  of  shrubs 
and  trees,  or  some  building.  Its  beauty  is  much  more 
satisfying  if  it  is  seen  only  when  welcome  directly  upon 
it,  and  the  charming  details  for  which  it  is  specially  val- 
uable are  at  once  evident. 

An  ideal  situation  for  a  flower  garden,  especially  one 
that  is  made  up  largely  of  old-fashioned  flowers,  such  as 
phlox,  hollyhocks,  larkspurs,  roses,  sunflowers,  and  Black- 
eyed  Susans,  is  along  the  edge  of  a  shrub  border 
or  piece  of  woods,  where  the  irregularity  of  the  growth 
of  the  flowers  and  their  frequent  unsightliness  when  out 
of  bloom,  or  fading  early  in  autumn,  renders  always  sat- 
isfactory the  immediate  proximity  of  masses  of  green 
foliage  with  which  they  can  blend  and  in  a  degree  lose 
themselves.  A  herbaceous  border  of  this  kind  lends 
itself  more  kindly  to  this  type  of  plants  than  any  other 
form,  and,  indeed,  for  a  strictly  herbaceous  border,  the 
writer  doubts  whether  any  other  form  will  be  found  en- 
tirely satisfactory. 

Naturally,  a  flower  garden  need  not  limit  itself  to 
herbaceous  or  perennial  plants  alone,  nor  to  roses,  or 
any  other  plants  that  are  apt  to  look  unkempt  and  strag- 
gling during  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  or  early 
autumn.  There  are  many  annuals,  such  as  nasturtiums, 
asters,  pinks,  forget-me-nots,  pansies,  begonias,  petu- 
nias, zinnias,  mignonette,  heliotropes,  poppies,  phlox 


FLOWER  GARDENS 


59 


EXAMPLE  OF  FORMAL  GARDEN,   WITH  GRASS  WALKS 

Drummondi,  and  marigolds,  all  of  which  can  be  used  in 
this  way,  if  in  no  other,  by  planting  a  succession  of  late- 
blooming  kinds  after  the  early  forget-me-nots  and  pan- 
are  out  of  flower.  In  this  way  a  large  garden  can 


60      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

be  kept  supplied  with  flowers,  and  the  general  effect  of 
the  open  level  spaces  retained  low  and  neat. 

There  is,  as  a  rule,  a  stone  wall,  or  vine-covered 
fence,  or  hedges  of  shrubbery  surrounding  the  garden, 
and  along  this  can  run  herbaceous  borders  of  old-fash- 
ioned flowers,  while  in  all  the  central  beds  will  come  low 
annuals  and  so-called  bedding  plants  (see  pages  59  and 
65).  The  effect  of  this  arrangement  not  only  tends  to 


CORNER   OF   A   FORMAL   FLOWER   GARDEN 

neatness  and  well-ordered  conditions,  but  it  enables  the 
eye  to  travel  unobstructed  over  the  lower-growing  beds 
to  the  large  herbaceous  plants  on  the  borders  of  the 
garden.  The  only  difficulty  with  this  treatment  is  the 
necessity  it  imposes  of  erecting  some  kind  of  propagat- 
ing greenhouses  where  annuals  and  tender  plants  can 
be  grown  in  order  to  keep  up  a  supply  of  the  right  kinds 
of  material  for  the  garden.  This  does  not  involve  grow- 
ing plants  for  greenhouse  exhibition,  but  only  a  modest 
supply  for  the  garden. 


FLOWER  GARDENS  61 

It  is  wonderful  what  a  source  of  interest  a  modest 
propagating  house  of  this  kind  on  a  half -acre  lot  may 
afford  the  owner  by  the  expenditure  of  a  comparatively 
small  sum  of  money  in  the  erection  of  the  structure. 
The  writer  has  prominently  in  mind  an  instance  where  a 
business  man,  living  on  a  small  lot  in  a  country  town, 
actually  floods  his  rooms  with  flowers  and  blooming 
plants  in  pots  and  boxes  at  all  times  of  the  year,  growing 
even  rare  orchids  in  this  way,  besides  affording  a  great 
number  of  outdoor  garden  effects  at  different  seasons  in 
his  yard.  In  this  case,  the  propagating  or  greenhouse  is 
a  primitive  affair,  the  heating  apparatus  of  which  seems 
to  almost  run  itself,  as  the  owner  simply  shuts  off  his 
drafts  in  the  morning  after  fixing  the  fire,  and  in  the 
afternoon  comes  home  to  find  things  in  good  trim  for 
him  to  take  up  his  amateur  gardening.  Amateur  gar- 
dening it  must  certainly  be  termed,  for  he  does  not  make 
money  by  it,  but  there  are,  nevertheless,  few  professional 
gardeners  anywhere  who  have  accomplished  such  horti- 
cultural feats  in  growing  and  flowering  plants.  There 
has  been,  without  doubt,  remarkable  skill  displayed,  the 
result  of  long  experience  and  close  observation  of  the 
habits  of  plants  and  a  certain  genius  for  making  them 
do  what  he  likes ;  but,  otherwise,  in  the  first  outlay  of 
money  and  succeeding  yearly  expense  and  labor,  there  has 
been  nothing  unusual  in  the  surrounding  circumstances, 
nothing  that  any  one,  almost,  might  not  have  at  his  com- 
mand. 

In  regard  to  the  shapes  that  gardens  should  assume, 
the  writer  will  attempt  to  give  only  general  principles 
for  the  guidance  of  those  who  undertake  to  design  gar- 
dens, as  they  should  do,  in  strict  conformity  with  the 
needs,  size,  and  topography  of  the  village  lot  or  country 


62      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

place  they  may  own.  Grass  walks  or  alleys  are  always 
agreeable  looking  and  satisfactory,  except  where  damp- 
ness for  some  special  reason  is  feared,  or  where  contin- 
ual visitation  of  many  people  is  apt  to  destroy  the  vital- 
ity of  the  grass.  Walks  of  gravel  that  are  nearly  always 
dry  have  a  distinct  value  in  the  feeling  they  ensure  that 
one  can  always  use  the  garden  without  suffering  from 
dampness. 

The  edges  of  gravel  paths  in  gardens  should  be  by 
preference  grass  sod,  although  dwarf  box  makes  a  pretty 
quaint  effect.  The  only  difficulty  is,  if  box  happens  to 
suffer  from  winter,  or  other  causes  of  destruction,  it  is 
difficult  to  mend  it,  while  with  the  grass  border  there  is 
no  trouble  whatever.  It  is  a  mistake  to  make  the  walks 
of  a  garden  too  wide;  it  is  better  to  err  in  the  other 
direction.  Four  feet  is  wide  enough  for  most  gardensy 
and  six  feet  is  liberal,  and  yet  some  broad  green  alleys 
of  grass  may  run  through  the  middle  of  a  garden  of  an 
acre  or  two,  eighteen  feet  wide,  and  look  all  right  with 
the  other  walks  eight  or  nine  feet. 

Gravel  walks  should  be  narrower,  because  they  are 
less  attractive  tHan  grass  walks,  and  less  liable  to  suffer 
from  the  increased  wear  and  tear  of  narrower  walks. 
The  beds,  also,  depend  in  shape  and  size  on  the  dimensions 
and  surroundings  of  the  garden,  but  they  must  be  narrow 
enough  for  one  to  readily  reach  and  pluck  the  flowers 
from  one  side  or  the  other,  say  six  or  seven  feet.  The 
beds  themselves  may  be  of  many  forms,  but  they  should 
assimilate  themselves  to  shapes  where  there  are  no 
sharp  points  or  narrow  corners,  as  there  would  be  in 
acute-angled  triangles.  Parallelograms  are  all  right  and 
satisfactory,  although  "they  present  a  modest  appearance 
on  paper  (see  page  64).  Forms  of  the  ellipse  are  excel- 


SMALL  FLOWER   GARDEN,   REAR    OP    HOUSE,   WITH   STRAIGHT  BEDS  AND 
GRASS  WALKS 


SMALL  FLOWER  GARDEN,  REAR  OF  HOUSE,  WITH  ELLIPTICAL  BEDS 
ARRANGED  WITH  GRAVEL  MAIN  WALKS  AND  SUBSIDIARY  GRASS 
WALKS 


FLOWER  GARDENS  67 

lent  and  effective,  while  the  circle,  though  practically 
available,  seldom  fits  in  as  well  with  an  easy  and  agree- 
able line  of  path. 

When  it  is  desirable  to  make  a  great  bed  of  some  kind 
of  low  plant,  a  device  is  sometimes  employed  where  a 
subsidiary  and  narrow  path,  made  usually  of  grass,  is 
carried  around  the  interior  of  the  large  bed,  thus  secur- 
ing access  for  various  purposes  to  the  inside  of  the  mass 
of  foliage  or  flowers  (see  page  65).  Grass  is  better 
suited  to  these  narrower  minor  paths  than  gravel,  even 
though  the  main  walks  of  the  garden  are  gravel,  and 
though  only  low-growing  plants  are  used,  as  indeed  must 
always  be  the  case  with  beds  thus  divided.  As  a  rule,  it 
seems  simpler  and  really  more  effective  to  make  a  bed 
not  wider  than  six  or  eight  feet,  if  circumstances  will 
permit. 

In  selecting  plants  and  arranging  them  in  beds,  it  is 
always  well  to  seek  to  establish  them  in  large  colonies, 
one  kind  occupying,  if  possible,  an  entire  bed,  or  two 
beds  on  either  side  of  the  path. 

Much  of  the  beauty  of  many  flowers  is  lost  when  one 
fails  to  see  them  in  large  masses.  It  is,  moreover,  not 
well  to  make  the  effect  too  monotonous  by  keeping  up 
everywhere  except  on  the  borders  the  low,  even,  flat 
effect.  Clumps  of  Eulalias,  symmetrically  arranged  (page 
59),  tend  to  vary  the  sky  line  and  to  please  the  eye  as  it 
wanders  over  the  surface  of  the  garden,  and  even  in  each 
bed  a  variation  of  sky  line  can  be  produced  by  using  in 
the  same  mass  several  kinds  of  the  one  species  which 
differ  in  height. 

There  is  a  system  of  garden  arrangement  which  is 
simple  and  quaint  and  homelike,  and  that  is  a  division 
into  large  squares,  or  parallelograms,  which  consist  of 


68      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

plots  of  grass  with  six-foot  borders  running  all  around 
them,  filled  with  old-fashioned  flowers — phlox,  etc. — and 
at  the  ends  and  intersections  of  the  path  a  single 
medium-sized  choice  tree,  remarkable  for  its  flowers,  such 
as  the  magnolia,  Chinese  flowering  apple,  horse-chestnut, 
etc.  Seats  and  summer-houses  are  used  in  each  corner  of 


FLOWER    GARDEN   WITH    BORDERING    BEDS,   INTERIOR   GRASS  PLOT,   AND 
SHADE  TREES   AT  INTERSECTIONS  OF   GRAVEL  WALKS 

the  garden,  and  in  the  open  space  of  the  grass  plot  one 
or  two  fine  medium-sized  trees  may  stand,  such  as  the 
virgilia  lutea,  the  American  or  European  beech,  and  the 
hornbeam,  birch,  or  small  form  of  maple,  Japanese  or 
Tartarian  (see  page  68).  In  such  a  place  may  appear  an 
aquatic  garden  and  perhaps  a  little  rustic  bridge,  all  a 
little  outside  of  the  hedge  and  enclosure  of  the  garden 
proper.  A  terrace  at  one  end  will  also  help  out  the 


FLOWER  GARDENS  69 

effectiveness  of.  this  garden,  which  should  really  have  all 
about  it  outside  of  the  hedge  a  great  grove  of  shade 
trees.  The  same  system  may  be  modified  for  the  smaller 
village  lot  by  keeping  a  grass  plot  in  the  center  and  run- 
ning a  flower  border  all  around  it  alongside  of  the  path. 
It  should  always  be  kept  in  mind  that  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  distinguish  a  garden  as  a  flower  garden,  and  not 
as  a  garden  of  clipped  evergreens  and  statuary.  Italian 
gardens  are  a  combination  of  terraces,  lawns,  fountains, 
statues,  alleys,  and  flights  of  steps,  with  trees,  shrubs, 
and  flowers  everywhere.  They  may  be  country  places, 
but  they  are  not  gardens  in  the  good  old  homely  English 
sense,  the  sense  in  which  we  want  them,  if  we  will 
consult  our  own  natural  and  inherited  common  sense. 


THE  TERRACE 

THE  function  of  the  terrace  in  the  convenience  and 
pleasure  of  the  house  is  not  far  to  seek.  It  is, 
so  to  speak,  a  sort  of  exterior  living  place,  an 
open-air  piazza  out  of  which  the  house  rises,  and  from 
which  it  gains  a  special  dignity  and  convenient  opportu- 
nity to  enjoy  most  agreeably  the  open  air  and  changing 
views  made  up  of  lawn  tennis,  croquet,  and  social  gath- 
erings, which  make  delightful  pictures  when  framed  in 
holly  or  box-bordered  terrace,  allowing  one  to  pass,  it 
may  be,  from  one  level  to  another,  and  to  look  from 
special  points  on  evening  sky  and  landscape. 

There  need  be  no  confusion  as  to  the  intention  that 
should  inspire  the  erection  of  a  terrace.  It  is  not  pri- 
marily a  garden,  Italian  or  French,  although  it  may  be 
appropriately  decorated  with  gay  parterres,  presenting  a 
generally  flat  effect,  relieved,  perhaps,  by  clumps  of 
grasses,  or  more  formal  evergreen  shrubs,  of  which  we 
must  allow  there  are  few  that  succeed  in  this  climate. 
The  ordinary  old-fashioned  flower,  such  as  the  Blackeyed 
Susan,  hollyhock,  larkspur,  and  sunflower,  and  even  the 
rose,  can  hardly  be  used  appropriately  on  most  terraces, 
unless  it  be  on  some  special  part  that  is  backed  up  by 
heavy  masses  of  shrubs  or  woodland.  Such  flowers  are 


THE  TERRACE 


71 


always  somewhat  straggling  and  unkempt  in  their  habit 
during  a  large  part  of  late  summer  and  autumn,  and 
would  seem  as  much  out  of  place  on  a  terrace  as  they 
would  set  here  and  there  in  pots  on  the  piazza.  Indeed, 
the  terrace  has  most  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  veranda, 
the  same  simplicity  of  outline,  the  same  open,  severe 
effect,  whereby  it  affords  a  more  extended  and  dignified 
base  for  the  house,  and  gives  it  a  more  permanent  and 
restful  appearance.  When  we  see  a  house  reposing  on 


BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  A  TERRACE  ON  CREST  OF  HILL,  WITH  BACKGROUND 
OF  WOODS 

broad  terraces  rising  from  one  level  to  another,  we  feel 
the  building  has  come  to  stay,  in  defiance  of  wind  and 
weather  and  decaying  effects  of  time,  for  are  not  its 
foundations  broad  and  set  deep  in  the  earth?  And  here, 
again,  we  feel  the  necessity  of  fitting  our  terraces  to 
the  peculiar  and  special  contour  of  the  ground  on  which 
they  are  to  be  built. 

Terraces  need  not  be,  and  seldom  should  be,  simply 
staircases.  Their  function  is  rather  the  broadening 
and  varying  the  effect  of  the  veranda,  and  giving  the 


72      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

scene  a  noble  and  dignified  appearance ;  hence,  the  ter- 
race finds  its  most  happy  situation  on  a  steep  hillside 
where,  by  its  means,  all  sensation  of  being  perched  in 
air  is  removed,  and  a  restful  feeling  suggested  as  we 
rise  by  flights  of  steps,  or  by  passing  out  from  one 
story  of  the  house  after  another,  to  higher  levels.  In 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  SAME  TERRACE 

the  peaceful  shades  of  evening  one  may  frequent  the 
terraces  on  steep  hillsides  without  fear  of  falling  off  the 
edge  of  things,  or  wandering  rapidly  down  to  spots  from 
which  it  is  difficult  to  retrace  our  steps  without  loss  of 
breath  (see  page  71). 

Level  lines  of  walk  with  short  flights  of  steps  connect- 
ing different  levels  always  invite  to  peaceful  and  medita- 
tive promenade  or  social  intercourse  that  need  not  fear 


THE  TERRACE  73 

interruption  by  false  steps  or  labored  effort.  The  different 
parts  or  stories  of  the  house  become  more  interesting  and 
comfortable  looking,  viewed  from  different  terraces  suc- 
cessively. The  house  seems  to  fit  itself  more  intimately 
to  the  curves  and  folds  of  the  land,  and,  at  least  in  the 
case  of  the  house  of  moderate  dimensions,  to  nestle  in 
the  hollows  of  its  terraces  as  if  it  proposed,  in  sober 
fact,  to  be  a  hiding  place  and  refuge,  a  very  fortress 
of  protection  against  all  stress  of  storm  and  vicis- 
situdes of  life.  Carrying  out  the  same  idea  of  fitting 
terraces  to  the  hills,  we  may  curve  and  fold  them  into 
the  shape  of  the  ground,  never  failing  to  seek  the  slope 
of  the  ogee  form  rather  than  the  sharp,  rectangular,  rail- 
road-embankment line,  although  the  rectangular  slope 
has  its  place,  which  is  generally  on  more  level  ground. 
But  in  speaking  of  the  appropriateness  of  broad,  level 
terraces  for  steep  hillsides,  in  accordance  with  the  same 
idea  that  prompted  the  builders  of  the  Renaissance  villas 
to  hang  them  on  terraces  on  the  hillsides  of  Italy,  we 
should  not  attempt  to  limit  the  use  of  the  terrace,  pro- 
vided the  size  and  shape  of  the  house  is  fitted  to  it. 
Gentle  slopes  may  lend  themselves  delightfully  to  the 
terrace  form,  and  even  on  level  ground  the  house  may 
rise  with  dignity  and  increased  effectiveness  from  the 
midst  of  a  broad  platform  of  terraces  right  and  left. 
Only  it  may  be  that  the  harmony  of  the  proportion  of 
the  comparative  width  and  length  of  house  and  terrace 
may  be  badly  adjusted,  or  it  may  be  that  the  fair  surface 
of  the  velvet  lawn  of  the  terrace  may  be  disfigured 
with  crude  effects  of  coleus  and  geranium,  or  still  more 
marred  with  improperly  used  statues  and  fountains  and 
clipped  yews  and  privets.  This  unfortunate  result  can- 
not be  said  to  be  a  characteristic  fault  of  the  terrace, 


74      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

but  simply  a  fussing  and  vulgarizing  of  its  proper 
dignity  and  simplicity. 

It  hardly  need  be  said  that  parterres  and  statues  and 
fountains  can  all  be  used  on  terraces  without  injury  to 
their  simple  and  broad  dignity,  and  often  with  decided 
advantage  to  their  general  effect. 

The  use  of  trees  or  shrubs  in  the  form  of  a  hedge  or 
arbored  walk  on  the  highest  borders  of  a  terrace  also 
needs  attention.  Many  would  use  arbor  vitse  and  privet, 
with  the  idea  of  securing  a  comparatively  permanent 
clipped  formality  of  outline  and  height,  but  in  a  year  or 
two,  perhaps,  along  would  come  a  peculiar  spring,  cold 
and  hot  by  turns,  that  would  destroy  a  portion  of  the 
hedge,  and  patching  would  be  out  of  the  question ;  or,  in 
the  case  of  the  privet,  it  would  grow  naked  of  stem,  espe- 
cially at  the  base  of  the  plant,  and  vexation  of  spirit  for 
the  owner  of  the  place  would  ensue,  not  to  be  solaced  by 
the  thought  that  in  England  and  Europe  generally  they 
do  this  kind  of  work  better  with  their  hollies  and  laurels 
and  yews,  which  do  not  always  thrive  here. 

But  the  trouble  with  such  workmen  is  they  do  not  know 
the  material  that  lies  at  their  hand.  If  they  did,  they 
would  turn  to  the  ilex  crenata,  a  Japanese  holly,  of  such 
hardiness  and  elegance  and  symmetry  of  form  and  richness 
of  grace  of  leafage  that  the  only  wonder  is  that  any  ter- 
race in  America  is  left  unadorned  by  its  presence.  Prun- 
ing it  stands  well,  provided  we  allow  it  to  be  in  need  of 
pruning  with  its  perfect  and  yet  graceful  and  light  sym- 
metry ;  and  again  it  may  be  repeated,  as  supremely  im- 
portant, it  is  hardy  in  America,  for  what  other  evergreen 
shrub  is  actually  hardy  in  America,  without  it  be  the 
American  holly,  a  beautiful  but  somewhat  straggling 
plant,  which  is  specially  slow  in  growth  and  difficult  to 


THE  TERRACE  75 

transplant  as  compared  with  the  Japanese  holly  (ilex 
crenata)  ? 

So  it  becomes  evident  that  the  terrace  is  most  valua- 
ble as  an  adjunct,  a  qualification  of  the  house,  and  may 
be  used  with  dignified  and  noble  effect  in  that  way ;  but  it 
needs  handling  with  equal  skill  of  design,  although  in  a 
very  different  way,  from  that  employed  for  the  house. 
The  designer  should  feel  the  folds  and  contours  of  the 
surrounding  ground  more  completely  than  is  necessary 
with  the  house,  and  above  all,  the  treatment  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  terrace  needs  to  be  done  with  a  full  and  in- 
timate knowledge  of  the  habits  of  different  plants,  in 
such  places  in  this  climate.  European  precedents  do 


CROSS  SECTION  OF  TERRACE    SHOWN  ON  PAGE  71 

not  count  here,  as  are  indicated  by  the  forlorn  attempts 
we  often  see  to  force  unfortunate  tree  box  into  the 
clipped  shapes  of  formal  gardens.  Italy  has  succeeded 
with  her  terrace  effects  by  using  plants  native  to  her 
climate,  and  by  using  them  in  ways  that  the  shape  of 
the  ground  and  the  spirit  of  the  landscape  suggests.  In 
this  same  way  we,  in  America,  will  come  to  study  more 
intimately  our  own  climate,  soil,  and  landscape  effects, 
and  the  plants  suited  to  them,  before  we  succeed  in 
securing  the  best  results  of  terrace  adornment. 

After  all,  velvety  lawn  and  open  turf  effects  will 
always  remain  the  chief  charm  of  American  terraces,  and 
the  sooner  we  settle  down  to  accept  this  undeniable  fact 
and  apply  it  in  our  landscape  work,  the  sooner  we  will 


76     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

succeed  in  developing  terraces  that  will  bear  compari- 
son with  the  Italian  gardens,  that  are  full  of  the  special 
character  of  the  vegetation  of  their  country,  which  it 
scarcely  need  be  said  is  not  greensward.  No  picture 
of  terraced  hillside  and  nestling  homestead,  where  we 
climb  from  one  level  to  another  to  find  some  massive 
background  of  woods,  could  possibly  be  perfect  without 
rich  and  broad  stretches  of  turf. 

The  principle  of  a  terrace  in  this  country  and  climate, 


PERGOLA  ON  HIGHEST  POINT  OF  TERRACE  ON  PAGE  71 

whatever  it  may  be  in  others,  being  strict  unity  and 
sympathy  with  the  house  and  its  architecture,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  formality  must  characterize  the  design.  Flat 
surfaces  and  regularly  sloping  banks,  limited  to  a  close 
association  with  the  house,  should  in  most  cases  control, 
instead  of  indefinitely  extended  terraces,  that  may  be 
admissible  in  a  milder  climate  where  life  belongs  more 
completely  to  out-of-doors.  It  would  not  be  wise  to  fix 
any  limit  to  the  width  of  terraces,  or  the  number  of 
them  to  be  employed,  and  generally,  for  the  sake  of  sim- 


THE  TERRACE  77 

plicity,  it  is  not  well  to  greatly  multiply  them ;  and  yet  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  terrace  is  not  only  the 
narrow  strip  of  raised  level  ground  arranged  parallel 
with  the  house  and  laid  out  along  its  front,  but  the 
whole  ground  that  forms  the  base  or  setting  for  the 
building.  Naturally  the  terrace  may  have  different 
forms,  from  the  simple  walk,  parallel  with  the  house,  to 
the  more  extensive,  massive,  and  ornate  treatment  of 
balustrades  and  marble-bordered  flights  of  steps,  that 
would  properly  accompany  buildings  of  more  importance. 

The  treatment  of  the  terrace  should  have  a  definite  pro- 
portion to  the  size  of  the  house,  and  to  obtain  the  feel- 
ing of  security  and  close  relation  to  the  house,  a  balus- 
trade on  the  line  of  some  of  the  terraces  may  be  used 
effectively;  but  it  seems  to  the  author  to  be  a  useless 
task  to  attempt  to  determine  beforehand  the  height  and 
style  of  the  railing,  or  the  width  and  height  of  the  ter- 
races, so  much  depends  on  the  architecture  and  propor- 
tions of  the  house,  and,  above  all,  on  the  special  shape  of 
the  ground  on  which  the  building  will  rest.  We  may 
say  in  general  terms  that  the  greater  the  depth  of  slope, 
the  greater  should  be  the  distance  between  the  edge  of 
the  walk  and  the  slope  edge.  To  unduly  shorten  this 
distance  is  a  common  mistake;  it  creates  a  sense  of 
falling  off  or  insecurity  that  is  inimical  to  comfort.  In 
the  same  general  way,  it  may  be  said  that  all  flat  sur- 
faces of  the  terrace  should  have  a  slight  fall,  say  one 
inch  in  ten  feet,  for  the  sake  of  proper  drainage. 

Consideration  should  be  also  given  the  landscape  views 
that  might  be  shut  off  by  some  ill  adjustment  of  balus- 
trades and  terraces.  The  effect  of  the  terrace  next  to 
the  house  is  to  add  to  its  apparent  altitude,  as  the  eye 
insensibly  estimates  the  height  from  the  line  of  gravel 


78  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

below.  Generally,  slopes  should  be  made  in  the  ratio  of 
two  feet  high  to  one  foot  wide,  and  in  height  they 
should  rarely  be  over  six  feet ;  and  where  greater  depth 
is  required,  two  slopes  should  be  made,  with  a  level  width 
between  them  of  not  less  than  four  feet,  and  usually  a 
good  deal  more,  for  a  great  multiplicity  of  terraces  is 
especially  to  be  avoided. 

The  treatment  of  flights  of  steps  leading  from  one  ter- 
race to  another  should  be  plain  and  simple,  rather  subor- 
dinating the  stone  effect  by  bringing  ^the  turf  well  over 
the  edge  of  the  coping,  leaving  only  such  a  width  of 
stone  exposed  adjoining  the  steps  as  will  be  in  keeping 
with  the  general  style  of  the  balustrades  and  house.  In 
many  places  of  moderate  size,  no  exposure  on  the  upper 
side  of  the  coping  is  advisable ;  simply  the  effect  of  a 
grass  border  over  the  inch  or  two  of  narrow  coping  that 
should  protect  the  steps  themselves.  The  steps  should 
generally  be  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  wide,  rising  five  to 
six  inches,  one  above  the  other.  There  should  always 
be  a  comparatively  level  space  at  the  foot  of  every 
slope  or  wall.  Care  should  be  also  taken  to  provide  for 
the  drainage  of  the  backs  of  the  walls  of  the  terraces  as 
well  as  of  their  surface,  by  means  of  pipes  built  through 
the  structure  at  proper  intervals  of  distance,  or  by  the 
insertion  of  a  porous  backing,  from  which  pipes  to  carry 
off  water  communicate. 


PLANTATIONS 

IN   the  minds  of  many,  planting  trees  and  shrubs 
forms  the  only  part  of  the  equipment  of  a  country 
place  that  requires  special  knowledge  and  skill,  all 
else  being  quite  within  the  range  of  the  ordinary  unin- 
formed citizen  who  has  not  even  thought  it  worth  while 
to  inform  himself  of  the  peculiarities  of  his  own  grounds, 
much  less  to  seek  to  teach  himself  some  of  the  principles 
of  arrangement  that  should  nearly  always  govern  the 
general  treatment  of  the  actual,  though  perhaps  small, 
surface  of  the  lawn  of  his  place. 

If  we  endeavor  to  realize  at  all  the  true  functions  of 
the  different  parts  of  our  home  grounds,  or  village  lots, 
we  will  come  to  make  in  our  minds  three  important  divis- 
ions of  the  work  we  propose  to  undertake — namely,  the 
house,  the  lawn,  and  the  trees  and  shrubs— and  which 
may  impart  the  most  to  the  beauty  and  usefulness  of  the 
place  it  will  be  difficult  to  say.  It  is  safe  to  say,  how- 
ever, that  the  variety  of  beautiful  effects  pertaining  to 
the  trees  and  shrubs  should  occupy  no  minor  place  in  the 
scheme  of  the  adornment  of  the  grounds.  The  general 
mass  may,  at  first  glance,  convey  a  vague  impression  of 
charming  colors  and  varying  lights  and  shadows,  relieved 
against  the  greensward,  but  as  the  eye  continues  to 


80     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 


dwell  on  the  details  of  structure  and  tint,  it  will  begin 
fully  realize  what  an  infinity  of  variety  of  pleasing  effec 
the  small  confines  of  a  village  lot  may  be  made  to  develo 
We  have  seen  in  the  discussion  of  the  best  methods  < 
laying  out  a  lawn,  that  the  scheme  of  its  adornment  mi 
be  reduced  to  very  simple  terms,  viz. :    Framing  tl 
boundaries  of  the  place  with  trees  and  shrubs,  maskin 
with  plantations  the  junctions  of  the  roads  and  walfo 
and  setting  out  shade  trees  along  walks  and  drives ;  an 


E-  T 


VILLAGE    CORNER     LOT,     FIVE-TWENTY-EIGHTHS     OP     AN     ACRE,    WITH 
BORDERING   SHRUBS  AND  FLOWER   GARDEN 

this  scheme,  if  the  reader  will  give  his  mind  to  it,  can  be 
applied  to  the  smallest  village  yard.  Other  adornment 
is  chiefly  undertaken  to  set  out  single  specimens  of  curi- 
ous and  beautiful  trees  and  shrubs  as  you  would  erect  a 
statue  in  the  garden,  and  the  result  that  follows  with 
considerable  sureness  does  not  usually,  to  the  mind  of 
the  author,  make  for  simplicity,  breadth,  and  beauty  of 
design. 

Furthermore,  going  still  more  into  detail,  in  the  con- 


PLANTATIONS  81 

sideration  of  the  exact  kind  of  material  to  be  used  in 
planting  we  shall  find  that,  in  spite  of  the  desire  for 
/ariety,  it  is  advisable  to  use  a  comparatively  small 
number  of  kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs ;  not  because  it  is 
necessary  to  limit  variety  for  the  sake  of  beauty,  for 
then — in  a  certain  sense  beauty  being  infinite  and  limit- 
less— there  could  be  no  limit  to  variety,  but  because,  when 
we  come  to  seek  shrubs  and  trees  for  building  the  groups 
on  the  lawn,  it  will  be  found  that  comparatively  few  trees 
or  shrubs  fulfil  the  broad  and  effective  requirements  of 
the  place. 

The  shrubs  that  really  perform  this  office  of  associat- 
ing properly  on  the  lawn  with  their  companions  of  other 
kinds,  presenting  both  picturesqueness  of  leaf  and  flower, 
and  hardiness  and  vigor  of  growth,  can  be  counted  on  the 
fingers  of  both  hands.  The  author  does  not  wish  to  un- 
fairly disparage  the  charms  and  useful  qualities  of  many 
excellent  shrubs,  but  he  wishes  to  point  out  and  empha- 
size the  fact  that  not  many  shrubs  or  trees  are  actually 
worthy,  on  account  of  general  adaptability  to  all  situa- 
tions on  home  grounds,  to  occupy  the  distinguished  posi- 
tion of  an  all-around  good  plant  for  the  lawn. 

It  seems  as  if  it  ought  to  be  evident  to  the  reader  that 
if  the  lawn  can  be  planted  with  such  shrubs  and  trees  as 
will  blend  and  harmonize  and  do  well  together,  it  would 
be  far  better  to  employ  them,  even  though  they  may  be 
small  in  number,  than  to  create  a  bizarre  and  unrelated 
mass  of  effects  with  many  showy  and  obtrusive  plants 
that  are  not  in  the  best  sense  beautiful  in  the  places  they 
are  intended  to  occupy.  It  is  easy  to  recognize  the 
truth  of  this  statement  when  we  consider  the  common 
lilac,  the  althea  or  rose  of  Sharon,  the  hydrangea  pani- 
culata  grandiflora,  and  a  number  of  somewhat  weedy 
6 


82      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

looking  spiraeas,  and  come  to  compare  them  with  the 
cluster  of  birches  springing  from  one  root,  or  a  mass  of 
hazel  bushes  mixed  with  forsythia  fortunii  or  viburnum 
dentatum. 

But  recognizing,  however,  as  we  do,  that  few  shrubs 
will  assimilate  in  habit  and  foliage  in  the  group,  we  are 
inclined  to  employ  a  number  of  one  kind  of  shrubs  to- 
gether, depending  on  a  few  smaller  shrubs,  allied  in  gen- 
eral appearance,  to  give  a  dash  of  desirable  variety  to 
the  mass;  and  with  this  in  view,  it  is  a  good  idea  to 
plant  some  of  these  other  shrubs  singly,  or  in  clusters, 
just  a  few  feet  away  on  the  turf,  to  give  the  suggestion 
of  naturalness  and  informality,  so  grateful  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  plants. 

It  is  difficult  to  explain  just  why  we  come  to  think  that 
certain  shrubs  look  well  together.  We  may  try  to  ex- 
plain it  by  saying  that  the  habit  and  color  are  similar, 
but  that  does  not  explain  it,  because  it  is  not  true.  Per- 
haps, after  all,  we  shall  have  to  fall  back  on  the  fact  that 
we  have  seen  these  shrubs  stand  together  on  the  lawn  or 
in  the  woods  and  found  that  they  looked  well ;  but,  never- 
theless, it  does  seem  as  if  we  would  have  to  refer  the 
ability  to  make  this  choice  to  some  instinct  that  becomes 
to  our  minds  more  seemingly  infallible  the  longer  we 
continue  to  contemplate  different  kinds  of  trees  and 
shrubs. 

Having  obtained  some  sensible  ideas  on  the  relations  of 
shrubs  in  groups  as  to  color  and  form,  we  must  not  forget 
to  consider  the  sky  line  or  top  line  of  bordering  planta- 
tions of  trees  and  shrubs.  A  monotonous  line  of  shrubs 
all  in  a  row  and  of  the  same  size  offends  a  sense  of  beauty 
that  very  properly  seeks  variety  at  all  times  and  places. 
In  lifting  up  the  top  line  of  a  bordering  mass  of  shrubs 


PLANTATIONS  83 

at  different  points,  by  planting  in  their  midst  at  intervals 
trees  of  large  and  distinct  character,  the  value  of  the 
general  effect  of  that  portion  of  the  group  or  border 
thus  planted  distinctly  increases.  All  definite  regularity 
of  these  intervals  should  be  avoided,  but  yet  the  relations 
of  their  several  positions  will  be  improved  by  retaining  an 
intelligently  fixed  relation  between  them. 

For  instance,  on  a  small  village  lot  it  may  be  well  to 
plant  elms  at  each  corner  of  the  place,  and  lindens  or 
planes  at  intervals  that  are  not  regular,  but  carefully 
adjusted  to  some  definite  theory  of  arrangement  that 
takes  into  full  account  the  shrubs  that  will  be  expected 
to  grow  between  them.  In  the  same  way,  all  shrub 
groups  are  improved  in  an  artistic  sense  by  setting  trees, 
not  at  the  middle  nor  in  the  ends,  but  at  just  such  places 
as  a  carefully  thought-out  scheme  of  arrangement  will  sug- 
gest as  most  natural  and  beneficial  to  the  general  effect. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  word  "  natural "  may 
not  have  a  very  precise  meaning  to  many,  but  to  such 
readers  the  only  explanation  possible  is  to  refer  them  to 
the  woods  to  acquire  the  proper  instinct  for  this  kind  of 
arrangement.  The  term  rhythmic  combination  is  not  alto- 
gether inapt  in  explaining  the  relation  that  should  exist 
between  the  trees  and  shrubs  of  a  group  or  border. 

It  should  be  remembered,  in  setting  out  groups  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  that  it  is  not  well,  if  it  can  be  avoided,  to 
plant  shrubs,  even  those  best  suited  for  it,  in  the  shade 
of  large,  well-established  trees,  as  the  roots,  as  well  as 
the  shade,  tend  to  stunt  and  retard  the  growth  of  the 
last  set-out  plants.  If  both  shrubs  and  trees  are  set  out 
together  at  the  same  time,  it  is  another  thing,  for  then 
neither  one  will  impede  the  growth  of  the  other  for  many 
years. 


84      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

Before  passing  to  the  consideration  of  individual  kinds 
of  lawn  plants,  we  will,  in  view  of  the  strange  ignorance 
or  carelessness  frequently  displayed  by  those  who  use 
plants,  give,  without  making  further  excuse  for  discussing 
so  elementary  a  subject,  a  brief  space  to  the  subject  of 
tree  and  shrub  planting.  The  less  the  subject  has  been 
rationally  considered,  the  more  do  people  undertake, 
without  proper  thought  or  study,  this  fundamental  pro- 
cess of  the  construction  of  a  country  place ;  and  some- 
times the  more  gardeners,  otherwise  skilled,  should  know 
about  planting  as  the  result  of  long  years  of  experience, 
the  less  ability,  whether  from  actual  stupidity  or  mere 
carelessness,  they  display. 

The  first  mistake  of  this  kind,  and  the  most  vital  one 
that  is  generally  made,  is  in  the  selection  of  shade  trees. 
The  ideal  tree  for  transplanting  is,  of  course,  extremely 
difficult  to  find  in  this  country,  and  is  scarce  almost  every- 
where, but  none  the  less  should  we  seek  to  have  our  trees 
approximate  a  high  standard  in  quality  and  size,  for  it 
should  be  remembered  that  there  is  a  size  that  associates 
itself  with  the  best  quality  of  roots  and  branches,  and 
which  naturally  varies  almost  with  each  species  of  tree 
and  shrub.  In  many  cases,  people  are  induced  to  select 
small  trees  when  they  might  easily  succeed  with  larger 
specimens  that  would  give  them  quicker  effect ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  trees  are  often  transplanted,  as  already 
explained,  too  large  to  secure  the  necessary  vitality  and 
vigor  of  root  and  branch  growth  for  good  ultimate  results 
ten  years  later.  The  tree  that  is  moved  when  large,  and 
without  the  necessary  fibrous  roots  that  are  found  only 
with  transplanting  that  has  occurred  within  five  or  six 
years,  will  generally  live,  but  will  seldom  grow  satisfac- 
torily, and  ten  years  afterward  will  perhaps  show  little 


TYPE  OF  TREE  DIMENSION  FOR  ELMS,  MAPLES,  LINDENS,  ORIENTAL 
PLANES,  AND  ASHES,  SUITABLE  FOR  QUICKEST  EFFECT  AND 
HEALTHY  GROWTH 


PLANTATIONS  87 

or  no  increase  in  size.  For  a  few  of  the  large  and  gen- 
erally popular  shade  trees,  such  as  maples,  lindens,  plane 
trees,  elms,  tulips,  the  cut  on  page  85  will  indicate  a 
desirable,  though  entirely  conventional,  example  of  the 
proper  dimensions  for  superior  specimens. 

The  second  mistake  we  find  generally  made  is  setting 
the  plant  too  deep.  It  will  readily  appear  sensible  to  any 
one  who  will  take  time  for  thought  that  a  tree  or  shrub 
when  transplanted  will  naturally  like  to  stand  in  its  new 
home  exactly  at  the  same  depth  it  occupied  in  the  place 
from  whence  it  came.  Some  allowance  should  naturally 
be  made  for  settlement,  which,  however,  need  not  cause 
the  mold  to  be  left  around  the  tree  more  than  an  inch  or 
two  higher  than  it  originally  stood. 

Recently  it  was  the  good  fortune,  or  bad  fortune,  of 
the  author,  for  the  experience  was  instructive  though 
the  injury  was  expensive,  to  see  a  whole  avenue  of  at 
least  fifty  Norway  maples,  that  had  been  planted  by  a 
careless  foreman  who  knew  better,  set  eighteen  inches  to 
two  feet  lower  in  the  ground  than  they  grew  in  the  place 
from  which  they  were  brought ;  the  consequence  being 
death  to  some  of  the  trees,  and  to  all  a  check  in  the 
growth  that  it  will  take  years  to  overcome,  although 
they  have  been,  for  some  time,  raised  to  the  proper  ele- 
vation with  relation  to  the  surrounding  soil. 

Furthermore,  the  hole  should  be  dug  considerably 
larger  than  the  area  of  the  roots  of  the  tree  when  spread 
out,  and  should,  moreover,  be  made  considerably  larger, 
and  not  smaller,  as  is  usually  the  case,  at  the  bottom 
than  the  top. 

In  regard  to  the  necessity  for  improving  the  character 
of  the  soil  that  is  to  be  used  in  the  hole,  especially  in 
light,  sandy  ground,  the  author  feels  that  it  is  impossible 


88     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

to  express  himself  too  strongly  or  with  too  much  gravity. 
It  may  seem  to  the  ordinary  observer  that  excessive 
expense  is  demanded  when  twenty  loads  of  rich  mold  are 
recommended  for  filling  a  hole  for  a  shade  tree  in  many 
parts  of  cities  like  New  York.  There  are,  however, 
many  regions  where  it  would  be  profitable  to  dig  the 
holes  for  trees  ten  feet  in  diameter  and  four  feet  deep, 
and  there  are  very  few  places  where  it  does  not  pay  to 
dig  a  large  hole  for  a  tree  and  fill  it  full  of  fresh  mold, 
and  the  same  treatment  is,  of  course,  advisable  for 
shrubs,  herbaceous  plants,  and  vines. 

There  is  a  sort  of  painstaking  care  that  a  good  planter 
exercises  (and  there  are  not  as  many  good  planters,  by 
any  means,  as  there  are  professional  gardeners),  which 
makes  him  fall  on  his  knees  and  work  the  fresh  mold 
among  and  under  all  the  fibres  of  the  larger  roots,  and 
then  shake  the  trees  sideways,  and  up  and  down,  until 
the  spaces  between  and  under  the  roots  are  thoroughly 
filled  with  fine  earth,  the  final  process  being  the  tramp- 
ing or  ramming  the  earth  around  the  tree,  layer  after 
layer.  All  this  compression  of  the  earth  over  and  around 
the  roots  tends  directly  to  keep  the  air  away  and  start 
the  growth  with  desirable  quickness  and  vigor. 

In  many  kinds  of  soil  it  is  profitable  to  prepare  a  spe- 
cial system  of  drainage,  and  a  convenient  method  of 
watering  each  tree.  For  a  succinct  and  clear  review 
of  the  subject  of  this  thorough  and  specially  successful 
kind  of  tree  planting,  the  author  would  refer  the  reader 
to  several  recent  reports  made  on  this  subject  by  what 
in  Paris  would  correspond  with  a  bureau  of  planting,  if 
we  had  one,  in  the  Department  of  Public  Works  in  this 
country. 

After  the  trees  and  shrubs  have  been  planted,  the 


PLANTATIONS  89 

practice  of  cultivating  and  watering  them,  which  is  un- 
fortunately often  neglected,  should  be  at  once  encour- 
aged, to  prevent  death  from  drought  or  hot  suns,  or  per- 
haps only  the  inception  of  a  stunted  condition  that  many 
years  will  often  fail  to  overcome.  Tree  guards,  and 
stakes  for  keeping  the  trees  firm  and  straight  in  high 
winds,  should  be  duly  set  as  soon  as  the  operation  of 
planting  has  been  completed.  It  is  a  good  idea  to  raise 
the  beds  or  territories  in  which  trees  and  shrubs  are 
intended  to  be  grown,  six  inches  to  a  foot,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  good  drainage  and  the  better  display  of  their 
attractions  in  mass. 

It  has  been  already  intimated  that  herbaceous  plants 
that  grow  and  die  down  every  year  may  play  a  special 
and  most  important  part  in  the  general  harmony  of  lawn 
effects.  Their  proper  place  is  generally  found  in  irreg- 
ular borders  along  the  front  of  shrub  groups  and  in  the 
angles,  or  along  the  base  of  the  house  or  other  out- 
buildings, and  at  the  foot  of  walls  and  fences. 

In  presenting  a  statement  of  the  proper  relation  of  the 
different  plantations  on  the  lawn,  we  would  say,  first, 
grass ;  next  above,  herbaceous  plants,  and  then  shrubs  of 
a  comparatively  small  size;  and,  finally,  large  shrubs, 
with  trees  at  considerable  intervals  throughout  their 
mass.  An  arrangement  of  hardy  plants  made  in  this  way 
will  be  seen,  on  experiment,  to  be  more  harmonious  and 
effective  than  either  of  the  classes  employed  would  look 
if  set  out  alone. 

In  many  places,  both  in  public  parks  and  private 
grounds  of  small  size,  and  especially  in  those  located  in 
rural-looking  territories  and  spots,  the  substitution  of 
vines  and  low  shrubs  in  place  of  ordinary  grass  borders 
may  be  practised  successfully  with  economy  and  excellent 


90   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

effect.  If  the  vines — climbing  roses,  honeysuckles,  and 
Virginia  creepers — are  cut  back  or  thinned  out  a  little 
once  or  twice  a  year,  to  prevent  disorder  and  encroach- 
ment on  the  footpath  or  roadway,  the  effect  will  prove 
both  natural  looking  and  agreeable. 

On  highly  cultivated  and  more  evidently  artificial 
grounds,  the  effect  of  vines  and  small  shrubs  bordering 
the  roadside  seems  to  the  author  to  look  somewhat 
forced  and  out  of  place.  It  scarcely  needs  to  be  re- 
peated that  herbaceous  plants  find  their  best  and  most 
congenial  home  in  the  regular  old-fashioned  garden  set 
aside  for  the  purpose. 

Bedding  or  foliage  plants  are  not  hardy,  and  are  con- 
sequently set  out  freshly  every  year  in  formal  beds  spe- 
cially designed  for  the  purpose.  They  consist  of  such 
plants  as  the  coleus,  geranium,  and  canna,  and  are  alien, 
exotic  productions  when  they  appear  on  the  lawn,  where 
they  consequently  do  not  seem  to  be  at  home  except 
immediately  adjoining  the  house,  where  they  become, 
very  properly,  part  of  the  domain  of  the  architecture. 
For  the  same  reason,  they  become  an  appropriate  adorn- 
ment of  the  city  square  or  public  or  private  courtyard. 

It  is  not  at  all  the  wish  of  the  author  to  in  any  way 
discredit  the  beauty  and  value  of  bedding  plants  appro- 
priately placed,  but  simply  to  ask  that  they  shall  be  duly 
coordinated  with  other  plants  and  the  surroundings  of 
the  picture,  and,  above  all,  to  seek  for  them  the  applica- 
tion of  the  same  broad  artistic  principles  of  design  that  we 
have  advocated  for  the  arrangement  of  trees  and  shrubs, 
In  a  miniature  way,  there  should  be  just  the  same  prin- 
ciples applied  whereby,  in  place  of  tall  trees,  will  appear 
cannas,  palms,  musas;  in  place  of  large  shrubs,  acaly- 
phas  and  geraniums;  and  finally,  in  place  of  the  low 


PLANTATIONS  91 

bordering  herbaceous  plants,  alternantheras  and  pyre- 
thrums,  and  the  whole  will  then  become  an  aggregation 
of  harmoniously  and  picturesquely  designed  parts. 

With  such  planting  material  and  intelligent  designing 
ability,  endless  beautiful  combinations  may  be  worked 
out,  on  lines  as  bold  and  free  in  their  way  as  those  used 
in  the  large  shrub  group,  and  sky  lines  as  sweeping  and 
noble,  and  arrangements  of  colors  as  soft,  delicate,  and 
harmonious.  All  strictly  flat  treatment  of  such  foliage 
beds,  in  imitation  of  rugs  and  other  purely  formal  and 
artificial  designs,  have  an  element  of  the  meretricious 
and  vulgar  about  them,  which,  however  brilliant  and  intri- 
cate the  pattern,  will  be  likely  to  strike  a  note  in  the 
general  scheme  of  harmony  that  will  not  be  pleasing  to 
many  who,  perhaps,  may  not  exactly  know  the  reason 
why. 

It  is  certainly  not  necessary  to  say  that  flowers  add 
greatly  to  the  beauty  and  pleasing  effect  of  foliage  beds, 
but  if  used  in  too  large  quantities,  they  will  mar  in  the 
first  part  of  the  season  by  the  insignificant  appearance 
of  their  leaves,  and  later  on  by  the  overshadowing  and 
varied  mass  of  their  individual  bloom,  just  as  the  illus- 
tration may  be  seen  any  year  in  some  foliage  bed  where 
a  predominant  grouping  of  white  lilies  is  often  so  widely 
spread  throughout  the  mass  as  to  largely  destroy  the 
intended  effect  of  the  design. 

The  desire  of  many  in  regard  to  the  distance  at  which 
trees  and  shrubs  should  be  set  apart  is  turned  a  great 
deal  in  the  direction  of  securing  immediate  effect.  It 
may  be  that  one  is  justified  in  undertaking  to  plant  for 
immediate  effect,  provided  he  has  entirely  counted  the 
cost  and  expects  to  thin  out,  after  a  few  years,  many 
trees  and  shrubs  annually.  In  actual  practice,  however, 


92      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

in  case  of  close  planting,  experience  has  proved  that,  as 
scarcely  any  one  systematically  thins  out  plantations  so 
as  to  allow  the  remaining  trees  and  shrubs  to  properly 
develop  their  normal  character,  it  is  a  good  idea  under 
the  circumstances  to  take  a  conservative  course,  and 
plant  at  distances  that  will  allow  the  trees  and  shrubs  to 
develop  properly  for  a  number  of  years  without  injuring 
each  other,  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  them  near 
enough  together  to  look  well  even  when  they  have  at- 
tained a  moderate  size. 

It  is  difficult  to  fix  the  exact  distance  apart  that  trees 
and  shrubs  should  stand,  because  the  growth  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  even  in  the  case  of  the  same  species,  varies 
to  a  remarkable  degree,  as  all  close  observers  will  remem- 
ber ;  but  we  should  say,  in  a  general  way,  that  large  trees, 
like  elms  and  maples,  should  stand  forty  to  fifty  feet 
apart,  and  shrubs  like  dogwood  and  snowballs,  six  to 
eight  feet  apart.  This  will  allow  a  fine  exhibition  of  the 
characteristic  beauty  of  the  plant,  before  the  time  comes 
when  the  thinning-out  process  must  commence,  if  the  value 
of  the  trees  and  shrubs  is  to  be  saved  from  nearly  uni- 
form deformity  and  decay.  The  effect  of  close  planting 
is  almost  invariably  in  actual,  as  distinguished  from  theo- 
retical, practise,  to  crowd  more  or  less  of  the  plants  be- 
fore the  pressure  of  the  overgrowth  is  relieved  by  cut- 
ting out  or  transplanting. 

It  has  the  tendency  to  simplify  the  problem  of  plant- 
ing, and  the  accompanying  thinning-out  process,  if  large 
masses  of  one  kind  of  shrubs  or  trees  are  used,  with  per- 
haps on  the  outskirts  a  slight  sprinkling  here  and  there 
of  other  kinds,  to  prevent  a  sense  of  monotony ;  for  in 
that  case  it  becomes  a  simple  thing  to  select  a  number  of 
plants  for  removal  from  a  quantity  of  the  same  kind.  It 


PLANTATIONS  93 

will  be  found  that  this  is  a  more  rational  process  than 
the  one  that  undertakes  to  use  quantities  of  shrubs  as 
fillers  between  specimens  of  trees  and  shrubs  set  wide 
distances  apart,  and  intended  to  remain  permanently 
after  the  filling  shrubs  have  been  taken  away  entirely. 
The  difficulty  of  this  plan,  which  seems  plausible  at  first 
sight,  and  has  its  good  side,  is  that  the  growth  and  fate 
of  neither  the  permanent  plant  nor  the  filling  plant  can  be 
foreseen,  for  any  one  of  them  may  grow  very  much  larger 
or  smaller  than  could  be  expected,  or  may  die,  when 
much  of  this  particular  theory  of  arrangement  would 
come  to  grief.  If  fillers  are  used,  low-sized  shrubs  and 
vines,  such  as  azaleas,  itea  virginicas,  hypericums,  honey- 
suckles, rubus  hispidus,  and  roses  should  be  employed. 

So  far  as  the  preparation  of  the  soil  goes,  in  spaces 
intended  for  masses  of  trees  and  shrubs  they  should  be 
spaded  up  and  cultivated  in  large  beds,  whether  the 
groups  be  planted  thickly  or  not,  because  in  this  way  the 
healthy  and  symmetrical  growth  of  stem  and  foliage  is  so 
much  more  benefited  than  if  they  are  set  in  holes  dug 
in  the  grass,  as  is  generally  the  fate  of  shrubs  planted 
some  distance  apart  from  each  other.  In  a  few  years  it 
will  be  found  that  the  plants  will,  in  spaded  beds,  com- 
pletely occupy  the  ground,  and  render  it  unnecessary  to 
cultivate  them. 

It  is  necessary,  in  arranging  trees  and  shrubs  on  the 
lawn,  that  the  situation  of  each  shrub  shall  be  chosen, 
not  only  for  its  own  individual  exhibition  of  attractive 
qualities,  but  for  what  should  be  the  dominant  idea,  of 
preserving  its  proper  harmonious  relations  to  the  general 
mass  of  which  it  is  to  form  a  part ;  for,  after  all,  the  chief 
function  of  its  existence  must  always  be  to  contribute 
to  the  value  of  the  lawn  as  a  genuine  picture. 


DECIDUOUS  TREES 

FOR  the  various  beauties  and  excellent  qualities 
that  should  pertain  to  a  good  tree,  the  sugar 
maple  should  be  accorded  the  distinction  of 
ranking  first  in  the  maple  family.  It  grows  well,  and  is 
long  lived,  and  not  difficult  to  transplant  under  most 
conditions,  but  it  must  be  conceded  that  it  does  not 
succeed  in  all  kinds  of  soil,  not  even  in  some  soils  in 
which  other  trees  do  well.  In  the  sandy  soil  of  New 
York  and  other  great  cities  it  does  not  grow  as  satis- 
factorily as,  from  the  general  behavior  of  the  tree,  we 
have  a  right  to  expect.  Up  the  State,  in  New  York  and 
in  New  England,  and  largely  throughout  the  entire  North 
and  Middle  States,  its  beauty  and  thriftiness  are  remark- 
able. 

For  general  usefulness  in  lawn  planting,  the  Norway 
maple,  although  it  does  not  equal  the  sugar  maple  in 
actual  beauty  and  symmetry,  is  one  of  the  best  trees  we 
have.  It  will  thrive  in  all  kinds  of  soil,  and  do  well  in 
all  exposures;  is  free  from  disease,  attains  noble  size, 
presents  a  great  rounded  mass  of  foliage,  and  affords 
excellent  shade.  To  see  the  Norway  maple  at  its  best, 
is  to  contemplate  a  specimen  that  branches  so  low  as  to 
have  its  twigs  and  leaves  resting  on  the  ground.  One  of 


DECIDUOUS  TREES  95 

the  finest  trees  of  this  kind  the  author  has  ever  seen 
was  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  in  this  case  the  massive 
foliage  swept  the  ground,  and  from  thence  rounded  into 
a  great  sphere  of  green  seventy-five  feet  high. 

Both  the  sugar  and  Norway  maples  retain  the  natural 
beauty  of  form  for  which  they  are  celebrated,  without 
pruning,  except  for  the  removal  of  a  dead  limb  or 
abnormal  shoot.  The  Norway  maple  blends  well  with 
other  trees,  and  has  less  of  the  prim  symmetry  that 
renders  the  sugar  maple  less  suited  to  a  congregation  of 
different  species.  It  is,  therefore,  an  excellent  idea  to 
group  sugar  maples  in  masses  by  themselves,  or  to  scat- 
ter them  singly  throughout  a  particular  territory. 

The  sycamore  maple  is  a  less  symmetrical  tree  than 
those  just  mentioned,  but  its  foliage  is  fine,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  its  seed  vessels  attractive.  It  is  hardy, 
healthy,  and  easily  transplanted,  and  naturally  develops 
reddish  purple  varieties. 

The  scarlet  or  swamp  maple  has  considerable  value, 
but  it  is  not  of  equal  excellence  to  the  sugar  and  Norway, 
being  loose-headed  and  irregular  in  outline.  Its  proper 
habit  being  the  swamp,  it  is  naturally  not  suited  to  dry, 
sandy  soil,  but  when  it  does  thrive,  as  it  readily  does  on 
ordinary  soil,  it  is  a  fine  tree.  In  autumn  its  coloring  is 
splendid,  and  in  spring  it  has  charming  red  flowers. 

Although  it  may  be  said  that  the  family  of  maples  all 
afford  satisfaction  on  the  lawn,  there  is  possibly  one  ex- 
ception, and  that  is  the  silver  or  soft  maple.  It  is 
true  it  grows  fast,  transplants  readily,  and  is  attractive, 
sometimes,  for  a  number  of  years,  but  eventually,  and 
sooner  rather  than  later,  its  brittle  branches  are  broken 
down  by  ice  storms,  the  foliage  becomes  sparse  and 
comparatively  uninteresting,  and,  too  often  for  the  credit 


96   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

of  the  tree,  early  decay  sets  in.  Its  form,  at  its  best, 
is  seldom  specially  symmetrical  or  graceful.  Having  no 
really  remarkable  characteristics,  it  is  less  attractive  and 
valuable  than  some  of  the  quick-growing,  short-lived 
poplars  which  have,  without  question,  striking  forms  and 
fine  foliage. 

Many  soft- wooded,  rapid-growing  trees  become  popular 
just  because,  by  tneir  employment,  the  desirable  landscape 
effect  can  be  quickly  obtained.  This  quickly-obtained 
effect  has  doubtless  advantages  that  we  cannot  afford  to 
disregard,  but  there  is  a  great  difference  between  rapid- 
growing  trees,  and  it  behooves  us  to  see  that  our  selec- 
tion does  not  include  brittle,  early-decaying  soft-wooded 
trees,  like  the  weeping  or  Babylonian  willow  and  the 
silver  maple.  The  effective  Oriental  plane  tree  and 
the  American  elm,  on  the  other  hand,  are  also  rapid- 
growing  trees,  but  at  the  same  time  long  lived  and  clean 
and  solid  in  structure. 

Chief  among  the  most  interesting  and  choice  maples 
are  the  various  forms  and  colors  of  the  endless  varieties 
of  the  Japanese  maple  polymorphum.  Generally  these 
maples  are  small,  not  larger  than  a  shrub,  and  in  some 
cases  they  are  actually  dwarf.  They  are  popular  with 
the  Japanese,  and  appear  frequently  in  the  designs  of  their 
artists.  Other  excellent  maples  from  Japan  are  of  large 
size,  but  they  are  so  rare  in  the  nurseries  that  they  can 
hardly  be  said  to  form  a  part  of  our  lawn-planting  mate- 
rial. There  is  a  Tartarian  maple,  and  also  an  English  field 
maple  (acer  campestre),  both  of  which  are  valuable  on  the 
lawn,  owing  to  their  comparatively  small  size  and  pictur- 
esque and,  in  the  case  of  the  former,  fine  autumn  foliage. 

The  American  elm,  as  we  have  just  pointed  out,  affords 
an  illustration  of  a  soft-wooded  rapid-growing  tree  that 


DECIDUOUS  TREES  97 

often  lives  to  great  age,  and  to  the  last  presents  great 
attractiveness  of  outline.  There  is  nothing  quite  so 
fine  in  general  contour,  among  the  denizens  of  the  lawn, 
as  the  dome-like  shape  of  the  American  elm.  As  we  look 
down  the  streets  of  some  of  the  New  England  towns,  the 
vistas  through  the  arching  American  elms  remind  one  of 
the  majestic  aisles  of  some  old-time  Gothic  cathedral. 
Besides  growing  fast,  and  presenting  in  mature  age  a 
noble  appearance,  the  elm  is  capable  of  adapting  itself 
to  different  kinds  of  soil,  both  wet  and  dry,  which  is  sur- 
passed by  few  other  trees.  Yet  it  is  a  tree  that  readily 
responds  to  good  treatment,  and  likes  plenty  of  rich 
mold  and  moisture  at  its  roots. 

The  English  elm  grows  to  be  a  tree  of  noble  properties 
and  rounded,  massive  shape,  but  it  is  entirely  unlike  the 
American  elm,  making  an  altogether  different  effect  in 
the  landscape.  There  are  several  other  good  elms  in 
common  use  on  lawns,  notably  the  cork-barked  and  Sibe- 
rian kinds. 

In  the  same  rank  as  the  maples  and  elms  stand  the  lin- 
dens. Of  large  size,  generally  symmetrical  form,  rich 
green  foliage,  giving  abundant  shade,  and,  above  all,  dis- 
playing a  rapid-growing,  easy-transplanting  faculty,  the 
several  varieties  of  lindens  are  of  unsurpassed  value  on 
the  lawn.  The  English  or  European  linden  is  espe- 
cially symmetrical  and  noble  in  appearance,  but  the 
American  species,  while  somewhat  less  interesting  in  col- 
oring and  outline,  is  of  quicker  growth,  and  adapts  itself 
more  readily  to  all  kinds  of  soil  and  exposure.  Like  the 
Norway  maple,  the  linden  should  be  encouraged  to  grow 
its  limbs  close  to  the  ground,  and  the  silver-leaved  variety 
of  linden  displays  attractively  the  white  undersides  of 
its  leaves  to  the  breeze.  Unfortunately,  disease  and 
7 


98      HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

insects  do,  after  all,  attack  the  European  linden  during 
some  seasons,  while  the  American  species  is  compara- 
tively free  from  pests  of  all  sorts,  thriving  on  the  poorest 
soil  in  the  most  crowded  parts  of  the  city. 

Of  all  the  sonorous-sounding  names  of  horticulture, 
the  most  impressive  is  the  liriodendron  tulipifera,  the 
familiar  tulip  tree  of  American  woods.  Yet  familiar  as 
it  is,  and  in  spite  of  its  somewhat  high-sounding  name, 
it  is  a  precious  possession  for  all  tree-lovers,  who  fully 
realize  that  for  beauty,  dignity,  and  general  effectiveness 
it  has  few  superiors  among  shade  trees  of  the  largest- 
sized  class.  It  is  almost  always  found  to  be  healthy, 
vigorous,  and  rapid-growing,  after  it  has  been  for  a 
year  or  two  in  the  ground,  for,  like  the  magnolia,  it  has 
roots  of  a  spongy  texture  which  are  easily  injured  in 
transplanting,  and  made  to  suffer  on  account  of  sensitive- 
ness to  drought  and  the  sudden  changes  of  winter  and 
early  spring.  For  this  reason,  it  has  been  found  better 
to  plant  tulip  trees  in  the  spring  rather  than  the  autumn. 
The  great  rounded  trunks  of  mature  tulip  trees,  rising 
in  some  specimens  fifty  feet  in  the  air  before  the  foliage 
begins,  are  particularly  impressive.  The  foliage  seems 
to  recede  as  the  years  pass,  for  in  youth  the  mass  of 
leaves  is  large,  and  spreading  and  dominant.  The  indi- 
vidual leaves  are  of  a  fresh  and  lovely  green,  and  most 
curious  and  elegant  in  shape,  and  in  autumn  they  often 
assume  an  attractive  golden  hue. 

Pruning  seldom  needs  application  to  the  tulip  tree, 
except  for  removing  a  dead  limb ;  indeed,  the  author  is 
inclined  to  wish  that  the  use  of  the  pruning  knife  could 
be  totally  abolished,  for  the  injuries  it  perpetrates  are 
far  greater  than  the  good  it  does.  There  are  few  trees, 
or  shrubs  either,  that  do  not  lose  their  most  character- 


DECIDUOUS  TREES  99 

istic  beauty  of  habit  by  the  ordinary  system  of  pruning. 
The  essential  and  characteristic  quality  of  a  tree  or 
shrub,  by  which  we  are  accustomed  to  recognize  its 
special  and  abiding  charm,  is  apt,  in  many  cases,  to  lie 
in  the  tips  of  the  branches,  and  against  these  tips  the 
pruning  knife  generally  wages  war,  dire  and  effective. 
Perhaps  we  would  not  go  far  wrong  if,  instead  of  abol- 
ishing the  pruning  knife,  we  limited  its  use  to  only  dead 
or  diseased  wood. 

Being  a  relative  of  the  tulip  tree,  we  need  not  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  the  magnolia  has  still  worse  trans- 
planting qualities,  and  all  that  has  been  said  about  capri- 
cious habits  and  slow  growth  during  the  first  years  of  its 
life  on  the  lawn,  especially  if  planted  in  the  fall,  applies 
with  much  greater  force  to  the  magnolia,  and  goes  far 
to  explain  the  reason  why  we  do  not  see  the  latter 
planted  more  generally.  Yet  nearly  all  the  species  and 
varieties  are  beautiful  and  striking,  both  in  flower  and 
foliage,  and  worth  the  most  painstaking  efforts  to  estab- 
lish. Among  the  specially  beautiful  flowering  kinds  we 
may  mention  the  Japanese  sweet-scented  white  magnolia 
stellata,  earliest  blooming  of  its  family,  and  also  the 
early  magnolia  conspicua,  magnolia  soulangeana,  and 
magnolia  lennei ;  and  among  the  June-blooming  kinds  we 
have  the  richly-scented,  cream-colored,  red-stamened 
magnolia  hypolenca,  and  magnolia  watsonii. 

For  magnificence  of  foliage  no  tree  in  the  North  can 
surpass  magnolia  macrophylla,  its  leaves  being  eighteen 
inches  to  two  feet  in  length,  and  its  great  white  flower 
as  much  as  a  foot  across,  while  its  size  often  reaches, 
under  favorable  circumstances,  forty  feet.  All  the  mag- 
nolias, it  should  be  said,  have  fine  foliage. 

As  we  turn  over  the  pages  of  classic  history,  we  find 


100    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

that  the  Oriental  plane,  above  all  trees,  seems  even  in 
those  early  days  to  have  surpassed  other  species  in  lon- 
gevity, tales  being  told  of  specimens  living  more  than  a 
thousand  years ;  and  yet  this  tree  presents  the  apparent 
anomaly  of  being,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  quickness  of 
growth  and  shortness  of  days  in  arboreal  life  often  go 
together,  one  of  the  most  rapid-growing  and  easily-trans- 
planted trees  that  we  can  employ  on  the  lawn  in  either 
country  or  city.  In  Europe,  and  all  over  the  East,  it  has 
long  been  highly  valued  for  lawn  planting,  but  in  Amer- 
ica, of  late  years,  it  has  been  undeservedly  neglected, 
although  appreciation  of  its  value  is  again  growing  rap- 
idly. 

From  the  very  start,  the  plane  tree  grows  vigorously, 
and  as  the  years  go  by  its  vigor  never  flags  nor  its  foli- 
age fails  to  grow  large,  umbrageous,  and  healthy.  In  old 
age  the  trunk  is  disfigured  by  scaling  bark,  and,  on  the 
American  plane  especially,  the  top  of  the  tree  sometimes 
dies,  an  accident,  however,  which  may,  perchance,  happen 
to  any  rapid-growing  tree,  like  the  American  elm,  for 
instance. 

If  it  were  necessary  to  seek  for  a  more  hardy,  vigorous 
tree,  under  adverse  conditions,  than  the  plane  tree — and  it 
would  be  hard  to  imagine  that  it  would  be  worth  while — 
we  would,  perhaps,  turn  to  the  honey  locust  (gleditschia 
triacanthos).  This  tree  has  graceful  foliage,  and  a  dark, 
attractive-looking  stem,  covered  with  thorns,  which  is  a 
drawback,  it  must  be  confessed.  Its  light  shade,  more- 
over, renders  it  scarcely  fit  for  a  street  tree.  The  chief 
value  of  the  honey  locust,  though  otherwise  a  fine  tree, 
after  all  lies  in  its  wonderful  adaptability  to  all  soils, 
which  enables  it  to  thrive  in  the  sands  of  the  seashore 
and  the  slums  of  a  large  city,  and  to  cling  to  the  scanty 


DECIDUOUS  . 

soil  of  a  cleft  in  a  great  rock,  and  thrive  therein  most 
luxuriantly.  There  is  a  kind  of  honey  locust  (gleditschia 
inermis)  that  possesses  the  great  advantage  of  being 
thornless. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  poplars  as  affording  an 
instance  of  a  quick-growing  family  that  is  apt  to  lose  its 
beauty,  and  even  die,  in  a  comparatively  short  space  of 
time,  but  we  are  not  prepared  to  give  up  its  use,  because 
groups  of  the  different  species  may  be  so  disposed  as  to 
produce  an  immediate  effect  that  will  last  for  a  time,  and 
can  then  be  replaced  by  neighboring  and  more  permanent 
trees.  The  period  of  the  beauty  and  vigor  of  poplars 
may  be  extended  by  removing  dead  or  diseased  wood  as 
soon  as  the  smallest  amount  of  it  appears.  The  Carolina 
poplars  and  balsam  poplars  are  good  kinds,  and  free 
from  the  objection  of  suckering,  which  has  so  greatly 
injured  the  reputation  of  the  silver-leaved  species. 

For  landscape  effect,  the  Lombardy  poplar  is  the  most 
valuable,  pointing,  as  it  does,  its  spire-like  form  far 
above  the  general  mass  of  surrounding  foliage.  Pruning 
away  dead  and  diseased  wood  is  especially  valuable  in  the 
case  of  this  tree,  because  it  tends  to  renew  a  fresh, 
marked  vigor  of  growth.  At  the  corners  of  small  places, 
on  either  side  of  a  gate,  or  along  the  side  or  back  of  the 
house,  the  Lombardy  poplar  produces  excellent  effect  in 
the  landscape,  but  it  should  always  be  associated  with 
large  shrubs  or  other  trees,  as  the  lower  portions  of  it 
are  apt  to  be  bare  and  uninteresting. 

Many  of  our  native  trees  are  both  beautiful  and  well 
suited  for  the  lawn,  and  ranking  high  among  these  we 
find  the  yellow- wood  of  Kentucky,  virgilia  lutea,  or,  more 
properly,  cladrastis  tinctoria.  It  is  a  charming  tree, 
slow  in  growth  and  of  beautiful,  refined  nature.  Every 


idl-  #(JTf:  to.  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 


curve  of  the  tree  is  fine,  the  smooth-barked  round  trunk, 
the  quaintly  shaped  twigs  and  cheerful-looking  light  pea- 
green  leaves.  The  white  flowers  are  apt  to  bloom  bien- 
nially, and  are  very  attractive,  reminding  one  of  those  of 
the  white  wistaria  with  its  long,  loose  racemes  or  clus- 
ters. 

Memories  of  spring  are  always  rendered  more  delightful 
by  visions  recalled  of  apples,  peaches,  and  cherries  in 
full  bloom  ;  indeed,  many  would  be  inclined  to  allow  that 
no  pleasanter  sensation  is  produced  by  any  tree  than 
that  made  by  the  rounded  form  of  the  apple  tree  in 
flower.  It  is  fortunate,  therefore,  that  the  horticult- 
urist has  been  able  to  grow  varieties  of  these  fruit  trees 
which,  instead  of  developing  fruit,  reserve  all  their  vigor 
for  the  purpose  of  producing  greatly  increased  numbers 
of  larger  and  more  beautifully-tinted  blossoms.  It  has 
been  thought  worth  while  by  tree  lovers  to  travel  hun- 
dreds of  miles  to  enjoy  the  rare  treat  of  beholding  a  fine 
specimen  of  Parkman's  double-flowering  Japan  apple  in 
full  bloom,  and  we  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the  reader, 
if  he  could  see  a  good  specimen  of  this  tree  in  flower, 
would  agree  that  the  time  occupied  in  much  travel,  for 
the  purpose  of  seeing  it,  had  not  been  ill  spent. 

The  trouble  with  the  horse-chestnut,  although  it  is  cele- 
brated for  its  flowers  and  foliage  throughout  the  known 
world,  is  that  the  time  comes  in  July  and  August  when, 
in  America  at  least,  the  beautiful  delicate  green  crinkled 
leaves  turn  brown,  and  fall  long  before  the  foliage  of 
other  trees. 

The  mountain  ash  and  ash-leaved  maple  are  subject 
to  attacks  of  insects  and  disease,  and  have  a  certain 
coarseness  and  looseness  of  habit  that  have  tended  to 
render  them  unpopular,  and  the  catalpa,  though  rapid- 


DECIDUOUS  TREES  103 

growing  and  effective,  on  account  of  the  shape  of  its 
great  leaves,  has  an  ungainly  appearance  that  counts 
against  it.  One  large-growing  ash  there  is  that  appar- 
ently continues  free  from  disease  and  other  drawbacks 
which  render  many  other  ashes  unsatisfactory  on  the 
lawn,  and  that  is  fraxinus  Americana,  the  American 
white  ash.  Its  foliage  is  rich  green,  and  in  form  it  is 
symmetrical.  It  does  better  here  than  the  European 
species.  The  European  larch  is  charming  in  its  early 
growth,  but  later  on  in  summer  it  often  grows  rusty. 

One  of  the  most  picturesque  and  generally  valuable 
shade  trees  is  the  odd-looking  American  species,  with 
glossy,  star-shaped  leaves,  turning  red  in  autumn,  and 
surmounting  a  rough-barked,  attractive  trunk,  and  bear- 
ing the  euphonious,  smooth-sounding  name,  liquid  amber. 
It  is  not  rapid  in  growth,  nor  especially  easy  to  transplant, 
but  it  eventually  develops  into  a  large  tree,  and  affords 
agreeable  shade  along  any  road  on  which  it  may  be 
planted. 

Poets  have  many  times  sung  the  praises  of  the  dainty 
and  graceful  white  birch,  i '  the  lady  of  the  woods, ' '  so 
we  will  confine  ourselves  strictly  to  its  practical  advan- 
tages for  the  lawn.  Being  of  medium  size,  its  somewhat 
pointed  and  very  marked  contour  serves  well  to  vary  the 
sky  line  of  any  group  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and  in  winter, 
or  against  a  background  of  evergreens  at  all  seasons,  the 
white  stem  makes  one  of  the  most  notable  effects  in  the 
landscape.  The  birch  is  a  capricious  tree  in  many  ways. 
It  will  take  a  fancy  and  stop  growing,  and  then  start  in 
and  grow  rapidly,  and  again  it  will  occasionally  die  unac- 
countably, and  in  transplanting  it  will  also  act  queerly 
at  times.  The  best  time  to  plant  it  is  in  early,  not  late, 
spring,  and  surely  not  in  fall,  although  the  reader  can 


104    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

undoubtedly  point  to  successful  fall  planting  of  birches. 
And  yet  we  must  have  the  birch,  for  in  spite  of  these 
drawbacks  it  is  without  doubt  one  of  the  most  precious 
and  important  elements  of  the  landscape,  whether  we  see 
it  singly  growing,  alongside  a  great  rock  or  against  a 
background  of  evergreens,  or  in  clusters  springing  from 
one  general  center.  In  order  to  secure  success,  and  it 
is  not  really  a  difficult  tree  to  transplant  if  care  is  taken, 
we  should  see  that  the  young  fibrous  roots  are  not  injured 
in  digging  or  allowed  to  dry  up  during  transportation  tti 
the  place  where  they  are  to  be  planted.  The  happiest 
situations  for  birches  are  along  the  shores  of  streams,  oi 
in  the  midst  of  shrubs  on  the  smallest  village  lot,  where 
they  present  a  most  distinguished  effect,  and  serve  to  van 
the  outline  and  sky  line  of  the  bordering  shrubbery  in 
the  most  delightful  manner. 

No  one,  I  fancy,  will  dispute  that  the  beeches  are 
among  the  most  richly  endowed  of  shade  trees.  They 
have  great  longevity,  and  exceeding  beauty  of  trunk, 
branch,  twig,  and  leaf.  The  trunk  has  rounded  contours 
and  greenish  gray  tints  that  are  attractive  in  all  species 
and  varieties,  whether  European  or  American.  The  twigs 
are  sharply  pointed  and  quaint,  especially  on  American 
beeches  in  the  winter  time,  and  the  leaves  are  rich  and 
glossy,  and  group  themselves  in  effective  masses. 

Fagus  ferruginea,  the  American  beech,  has  always 
seemed,  for  some  unaccountable  reason,  to  be  neglected. 
It  is  extremely  interesting  with  its  light-gray  bark  and 
layer-like  masses  of  elegant-looking  foliage. 

Purple  beeches  and  weeping  beeches  are  renowned  for 
beauty,  but  they  should  be  used  sparingly,  as  their  some- 
what abnormal  appearance,  beautiful  as  it  is,  partially 
unfits  them  for  blending  harmoniously  with  the  general 


DECIDUOUS  TREES  105 

mass  of  trees  and  shrubs  on  the  lawn.  As  a  rule, 
beeches  do  not  transplant  easily,  and  should  be,  there- 
fore, set  out  small,  four  to  six  feet  high.  Beech  hedges 
present  a  picturesqueness  and  variety  of  outline  that  go 
far  to  redeem  the  general  stiffness  and  monotony  of  the 
hedge  when  compared  with  the  varying  play  of  form  and 
color  that  characterize  a  well-selected  and  grouped  bor- 
der of  shrubs  and  trees.  The  hornbeams  possess 
many  of  the  good  qualities  and  attributes  of  the  beech, 
and  apparently  thrive  in  the  poorest  soil. 

It  is  difficult  to  classify  trees,  and  say  which  is  com- 
paratively best  among  the  modifying  circumstances  of 
soil  and  exposure,  but  for  general  excellence  we  feel 
forced  to  rank  the  oak  very  high,  as  high,  perhaps,  as 
any.  It  is  conceded  on  all  sides  that  oaks  are  sturdy, 
enduring,  and  picturesque,  both  in  rough  bark  and  glossy 
and  curiously  indented  leaf,  but  it  is  objected  that  they 
are  slow  of  growth  and  difficult  to  transplant.  Gener- 
ally it  is  the  fault  of  the  planting  and  quality  of  the  soil 
used  that  retard  the  growth  of  an  oak.  It  is  surpris- 
ing to  see  how  closely  a  pin  oak,  when  it  has  been  care- 
fully planted  in  rich  soil,  will  keep  in  size  to  a  linden  or 
maple,  and  as  for  the  difficulty  in  transplanting,  all  we 
can  say  is  that  it  usually  grows  out  of  the  fact  that  the 
specimen  in  question  has  not  been  moved  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  new  and  abundant  fiber  later  than  five  or 
six  years  before  the  last  date  of  planting.  It  is  likely, 
moreover,  that  it  will  be  found,  in  case  of  failure,  that 
a  large  stunted  specimen,  ten  to  twelve  feet  high,  has 
been  used,  instead  of  one  four  to  six  feet  in  height  that 
has  been  recently  transplanted. 

The  pin  oak,  one  of  the  best  growing  kinds,  is  consid- 
ered valuable  on  account  of  its  finely  formed  dark  trunk 


106  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

and  drooping,  graceful,  deeply  indented  foliage.  The 
red  oak  has  rich  red  leaves  in  autumn,  and  the  chestnut 
oak  and  black  oak  are  also  excellent.  The  American 
chestnut  is  the  most  ornamental  of  the  nut  trees,  and 
grows  to  great  size,  the  foliage  being  large  and  glossy, 
and  the  flowers  in  June  white  and  fringe-like.  Its  only 
drawback  is  a  certain  shyness  in  transplanting. 

Strangely  constituted,  and  yet  one  of  the  best  and  most 
attractive  of  Japanese  trees,  the  Japanese  gingko  (salis- 
buria  adiantifolia),  or  maiden-hair  tree,  has  long,  spread- 
ing branches,  reaching  out  in  a  peculiar  fashion  of  its 
own,  and  bearing  cones  when  it  fruits,  which  seldom 
occurs,  for  it  is  unisexual.  The  leaves  are  light  green 
and  curious,  resembling  in  outline  an  open  fan,  and  are 
borne  in  somewhat  sparse  numbers  along  the  branches. 
The  gingko  is  entirely  hardy,  and  grows  eventually  to  be 
a  large  tree,  forty  feet  high,  though  in  youth  its  growth 
is  not  rapid. 

The  sophora  is  another  hardy  Japanese  tree,  bearing  in 
June  cream-colored  pea-blossom-like  flowers  in  racemes, 
and,  like  the  gingko,  attaining  large  size  in  a  decidedly 
slow  fashion. 

It  is  a  pity  to  feel  obliged  to  leave  the  subject  of  de- 
ciduous trees  with  the  full  knowledge  that  it  has  been 
necessary  to  pass  unnoticed  many  excellent  shade  and 
lawn  trees,  but  it  has  been  the  endeavor  of  the  author, 
within  his  limited  space,  to  discuss  at  least  a  number  of 
the  most  distinct  and  best  trees,  for  beauty  and  grow- 
ing qualities,  that  are  likely  to  be  found  in  reasonable 
quantities  in  the  nurseries  of  the  country. 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS 

IT  is  rapidly  coming  to  be  an  accepted  theory  that 
American  trees  and  shrubs  should,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, inhabit  American  lawns.  Some  persons  go 
so  far  as  to  almost  assert  that  nothing  but  American 
trees  suit  American  lawns,  but  the  continued  employ- 
ment of  such  trees  as  the  Norway  maple  will  serve  to 
disprove  the  theory  as  one  to  be  universally  applied. 
However,  be  that  as  it  may,  there  is  no  doubt  that  many 
hardy  native  shrubs  grow  remarkably  well  together,  and 
blend  their  several  attractions  in  a  thoroughly  harmoni- 
ous and  natural  manner. 

Ranking  high  among  such  American  shrubs  comes  the 
common  alder  of  the  fields  and  woods,  alnus  incana.  It 
is  an  early  spring-blooming  and  swamp-loving  plant,  and 
thrives  better  in  wet  places  than  almost  any  other  shrub. 
The  early  effect  of  its  satiny  leaves  pushing  out  when 
little  vegetation  has  as  yet  commenced  to  move,  makes 
one  of  the  chief  beauties  of  spring,  and  in  late  fall,  on  the 
edge  of  winter,  a  few  yellow  flowers  will  already  appear 
on  the  alder,  as  if  it  were  the  intention  of  the  plant  to 
announce,  in  a  slight  and  uncertain  way,  what  it  proposed 
to  do,  in  a  full  and  effective  manner,  as  soon  as  spring 
appeared.  Alders  transplant  and  grow  well,  branch  sym- 


108    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

metrically  and  compactly  from  the  ground  upward,  form- 
ing natural  companions  for  the  willows. 

Willows  appear  with  their  catkins,  or  blossoms,  in  early 
spring,  and  take  almost  equal  pleasure  in  wet  ground. 
They  grow  with  great  rapidity,  and  even  better  than 
alders,  thrive  on  almost  any  kind  of  soil,  although  as 
they  grow  old  they  become  coarse  looking,  and  are  apt 
to  fall  into  early  decay.  This  applies  especially  to  the 
weeping  willow,  salix  babylonica,  the  long  soft  shoots  of 
which  soon  begin  to  droop  in  a  forlorn  and  distressed 
condition  after  it  has  attained  the  size  of  a  tree  and  ice 
storms  and  other  accidents  encounter  its  brittle  wood. 
It  is  evident  that  it  is  only  in  extreme  youth  that  the 
weeping  willow  exhibits  any  shapely  vigor  or  positive 
charm.  Bushy  forms  of  willows,  of  which  there  are 
legions,  last  longer  than  the  weeping  willow,  and  perform 
excellent  work  in  accomplishing  attractive  effects  in  the 
landscape.  The  yellow-stemmed  willow  (salix  aurea)  is, 
perhaps,  the  best  of  these  bushy  forms,  growing  in  great 
clustered  masses  in  almost  any  soil,  and,  although  natu- 
rally liable  to  become  coarse  in  time,  is  likely  to  thrive 
well  for  a  long  period  of  years.  Laurel-leaved  willows 
(salix  laurifolia,  or  pentandra)  are  less  interesting,  and 
grow  less  attractively  and  more  stiffly  than  the  golden 
kind.  Their  foliage  is  very  fine,  resembling  that  of  the 
orange  tree. 

For  such  large-growing  shrubs  plenty  of  room  is  re- 
quired. On  small  plots,  owing  to  the  limited  amount  of 
space,  willows  of  this  character  should  be  planted  at  the 
extreme  rear. 

There  is  a  wide  range  for  effect  in  color  in  autumn 
among  American  trees  and  shrubs,  and  chief  among  the 
latter  maybe  ranked  andromeda  arborea,  the  sorrel  tree. 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  109 

Its  leaves  shine  with  a  rich  red  light  in  the  western  sun 
of  autumn,  making  what  some  think  is  perhaps  the  best 
effect  of  its  kind  to  be  seen  on  the  lawn.  The  large, 
fine  white  flowers  come  in  July,  and  until  winter  the 
foliage  is  a  shiny  green.  In  association,  the  andromeda 
arborea  looks  well  with  azaleas,  kalmias,  and  several 
other  kinds  of  andromedas,  although  it  grows  larger  than 
any  of  them.  Noteworthy  among  the  other  kinds  of 
andromedas  are  catesbii  and  floribunda,  all  smaller  in  size 
and  earlier  blooming  than  arborea. 

One  of  the  most  charming  families  for  any  lawn, 
provided  it  has  a  suitable  place  for  its  growth,  is  the 
hardy  azalea  of  our  American  woods.  Azaleas  should 
be  set  on  a  hillside,  or  in  a  ravine,  where  a  natural  wood- 
land effect  can  be  contrived  by  backing  up  and  framing 
the  plantation  with  plenty  of  large  trees  and  shrubs. 
With  the  masses  of  azaleas  (and  they  should  be  disposed 
together  in  large  quantities  by  themselves)  will  naturally 
grow  American  shrubs  like  callicarpa,  ceanothus,  clethra 
alnifolia,  rhodora  canadensis,  and  itea  virginica.  Foli- 
age and  flowers  are  all  fine  on  these  shrubs,  and  the  color- 
ing in  autumn  on  several  of  them  is  especially  rich. 

In  spring  the  earliest  positively  glowing  effect  of 
flowers  is  found  on  the  closely  set,  bright-red  blossoms 
which  come  on  the  Japanese  quince  (cydonia  japonica). 
The  picturesqueness  of  the  foliage  of  this  shrub  adds 
beauty  to  its  appearance,  because  it  acts  as  a  foil  to 
the  numerous  flowers,  but  disease  sometimes  assails  it 
badly,  and  it  certainly  does  not  thrive  as  well  in  all  kinds 
of  soil  as  some  other  shrubs. 

Spring's  most  characteristic  and  entirely  satisfactory 
shrub  is  the  white-flowering  dogwood  (cornus  florida). 
For  flower,  foliage,  and  picturesqueness  pf  outline  there 


110    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

seems  to  be  nothing  that  can  surpass  it  at  that  season  of 
the  year.  The  foliage  lies  in  stratified  masses  that  are 
very  effective,  and  the  leaves  are  finely  formed  and  beau- 
tiful in  detail,  as  well  as  in  the  way  they  bear  the  simple 
and  broadly  outlined  flower.  The  very  tint  of  the  bark 
is  fine,  and  in  autumn  every  one  knows  how  much  our 
woods  owe  to  them.  Another  fine  cornus  is  mascula 
(cornelian  cherry).  Like  the  C.  florida,  it  comes  early 
with  yellow  flowers,  and  in  autumn  has  bright-red  ber- 
ries. Other  corni — stoloifera,  siberica,  alternifolia,  and 
circinata — are  fine  in  foliage  throughout  the  summer,  but 
they  are  not  remarkable  for  their  flowers  nor  for  their 
autumn  coloring.  The  red-stemmed  dogwood  is  hardly 
less  valuable  than  the  white-flowering  species,  for  its  red 
twigs  are  particularly  effective  in  winter,  and  in  summer 
the  growth  is  vigorous  and  picturesque  above  most 
shrubs  on  the  lawn. 

Deutzias  are  well-known  and  popular  shrubs,  but  they 
have  a  formal,  stiff  habit  that  suggests  the  idea  that  they 
belong  to  the  garden  rather  than  the  lawn ;  and  weigelas 
and  lilacs  and  altheas  all  give  one  a  similar  feeling.  It 
admits  of  no  question  that  in  full  bloom  they  are  beau- 
tiful, but  during  the  remainder  of  the  year  their  appear- 
ance does  not  blend  well  with  other  shrubs  on  the  lawn. 
The  Japanese  and  Chinese  lilacs  are  less  open  to  this 
criticism  than  the  common  kind,  vulgaris. 

It  is  strange  that  the  hazel  bushes,  both  American  and 
European,  are  so  little  used  on  the  lawn.  Their  leaves 
are  interesting  in  shape,  and  the  habit  of  the  plant  is 
compact  and  picturesque  and  effective  in  masses,  whether 
standing  alone  or  in  combination  with  other  shrubs.  It 
has  a  permanent  look  and  great  vigor  united  with  much 
refinement. 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  111 

Almost  as  popular  and  well  known  as  the  white-flower- 
ing dogwoods,  the  forsythias  always  constitute,  where- 
ever  they  grow,  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  effects  on 
the  lawn.  Their  yellow  flowers  grow  in  great,  close-set 
masses.  Forsythia  fortunii  has  the  most  effective  foliage, 
because  it  is  larger  and  more  characteristic  and  satisfac- 
tory, and  blends  better  with  other  shrubs. 

An  effective  Japanese  shrub  is  elseagnus  umbellata, 
and  its  companion,  E.  longipes.  It  is  a  great,  rampant- 
growing  plant  of  picturesque  shape,  and  has  leaves  with 
silvery  undersides,  and  small  yellow  flowers  followed  by 
bright-red  fruit.  Elaeagnus  hortensis  has  beautiful  sil- 
very, grayish-green  foliage,  but  its  habit  is  less  vigorous 
Hhan  that  of  the  two  species  first  named. 

Euonymuses  are  a  little  stiff  and  tree-like  to  serve  the 
purpose  of  a  shrub,  but  they  have  a  fine  bark  and  habit 
of  growth,  and  their  numerous,  curiously  shaped  red 
seed-vessels  make  a  striking  feature  in  the  landscape  on 
a  sunny  autumn  day.  To  these  attractions  are  added,  in 
the  case  of  some  species,  a  rich  fall  coloring,  that  is  well 
illustrated  in  euonymus  latifolius,  E.  atropurpureus,  and 
E.  alatus.  The  green  of  the  euonymus  leaf  often  ex- 
hibits a  fine  bluish-purple  hue. 

It  is  not  the  intention,  however,  of  the  author  to  advo- 
cate purple  and  golden-leaved  kinds  of  any  shrub  or  tree, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  are  universally  pop- 
ular. Viewed  individually,  such  plants  are  undoubtedly 
beautiful,  and  have  their  value  for  those  who  may  desire 
to  multiply  their  specimen  plants ;  but  for  the  landscape 
they  present,  as  it  seems  to  the  author,  a  quality  that 
is  not  desirable  in  the  group,  because  it  is  essentially 
scenic,  as  opposed  to  the  natural,  in  the  striking  glow 
•and  glitter  of  its  display  on  the  lawn. 


112  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

In  the  case  of  shrubs  and  trees  beautifully  colored  in 
autumn,  this  scenic  effect  merges  easily  into  the  natural, 
because  the  purple  and  red  and  gold  are  mingled  with 
the  green,  and  all  nature,  in  dropping  her  royal  robes, 
runs  through  the  entire  gamut  of  color  from  glowing 
crimson  to  dull  browns  and  grays,  and  consequently  no 
bizarre,  inharmonious,  and  abnormal  effects  are  suggested, 
any  more  than  they  would  be  in  the  weird  changes  of 
decay  and  death  in  other  portions  of  Nature's  organism. 

The  barberries  furnish  an  illustration  of  the  superior 
value  of  the  green  over  the  purple,  and,  strange  to  say, 
the  very  habit  of  the  green  form  is  less  stiff  and  more 
graceful  than  the  purple ;  the  abnormal  color  seems  to 
predict  a  certain  stiffness,  dwarfness,  or  otherwise  un- 
natural variation  of  the  original  form  of  the  plant.  Small- 
ness,  on  the  other  hand,  does  not  imply  dwarfness,  which 
conveys  a  distinct  sense  of  the  abnormal,  for  the  best, 
and  certainly  a  quite  natural  looking  barberry,  is  the 
Japanese  species,  berberis  thunbergii;  the  entire  plant 
is  constructed  on  a  small  but  very  effective  scale.  Its 
height  at  maturity,  generally  in  this  country  only  four  or 
five  feet,  is  moderate ;  its  leaves,  flowers,  and  berries  are 
all  small,  and  the  shading  of  its  glossy  leaves,  from  June 
to  October,  through  the  varying  tints  of  green  and 
deep  red,  is  refined  and  delicate.  Being  hardy  and 
easily  transplanted,  and  comparatively  free  from  disease, 
it  readily  takes  rank  among  the  few  shrubs  that  should 
be  considered  indispensable  on  every  lawn. 

There  are,  we  must  always  remember,  certain  shrubs 
which  at  first  sight  are  not  particularly  interesting, 
and  possibly  a  little  coarse,  but  which,  on  further  ac- 
quaintance, prove  to  blend  picturesquely  and  harmoni- 
ously in  combination  with  other  shrubs  on  the  lawn.  The 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  113 

cephalanthus  occidentalis  is  one  of  these  shrubs,  and  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  present  our  respects  to  several 
other  unpretentious  species  of  this  kind  before  we  have 
finished  discussing  the  merits  of  various  plants  suitable 
for  the  lawn.  The  amelanchiers  deserve  much  considera- 
tion and  respect  for  qualities  of  this  unobtrusive  but 
specially  effective  sort,  and  they  have  an  added  charm 
in  their  numerous  snow-white  flowers,  blooming  in  mid- 
spring,  and  giving  the  plant  a  most  interesting  appear- 
ance. There  is  a  Japanese  species,  amelanchier  japonica, 
which  is  specially  valuable  for  the  picturesque  way  in 
which  it  masses  its  foliage.  The  witch  hazel,  or  hama- 
melis,  which  is  not  a  true  hazel,  is  less  valuable,  and 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  picturesque  halesia  tetrap- 
tera,  or  silver  bell.  Celtis  occidentalis,  the  nettle-tree, 
is  another  of  these  shrubs,  or  small  trees,  that  have 
charm  combined  with  simplicity  and  a  blending  quality. 
It  has  numerous  slender  branches  and  leaves,  and  a  fine 
habit. 

We  desire  to  express  our  most  profound  respect  for 
all  these  shrubs,  not  because  they  are  more  beautiful 
ihan  other  shrubs,  for  they  are  not,  but  for  the  simple 
reason  that  they  sustain  such  fine  relations  with  each 
other  and  all  portions  of  the  group,  and  lend  just  the 
touch  of  wildness  needed  to  bring  the  entire  effect  into 
harmony  and  sympathy  with  nature.  Quite  different  in 
effect,  although  more  showy,  are  the  masses  of  the  rhus 
cotinus,  purple  fringe  or  smoke-tree,  the  flowers  of 
which  have  a  purple  or  misty  appearance,  relieved  by  the 
mingling  with  them  of  good-sized,  rounded  green  leaves. 
Yet  the  rhus  cotinus  is  somehow  a  coarse  shrub,  and 
requires  to  be  planted  with  care  and  judgment,  singly  or 
in  masses  by  itself,  although  its  general  effectiveness 
8 


114    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

makes  it  impossible  for  us  to  neglect  it  in  selecting  lawn- 
planting  material. 

The  white  fringe  (chionanthus  virginica)  has  scarcely 
any  relation  to  the  smoke-tree  except  in  name  and  vigor 
of  growth,  for  they  both  make  trees  rather  than  shrubs. 
The  foliage  of  the  white  fringe  is  light  green  and  glossy, 
and  the  flowers  are  like  the  most  delicate  white  lace, 
blooming  in  profusion,  and  giving  the  shrub,  or  tree,  its 
chief  value.  It  should  stand  alone,  or  on  the  outskirts 
of  a  group  of  trees  or  large  shrubs: 

Of  the  hibiscus  syriacus,  rose  of  Sharon  or  althea, 
it  may  be  said  that  it  has  at  least  one  attraction  in  its 
bloom  in  August ;  but  otherwise  it  is  stiff  in  habit,  some- 
what coarse  in  appearance,  and  exhibiting  dull-red, 
brick-colored  and  bluish  tints  that  are  not  pleasing  to 
many. 

Hydrangea  paniculata  grandiflora  is  at  the  present 
time  one  of  the  most  popular  shrubs  used  on  the  lawn, 
but  in  reality  its  chief  value  lies  in  its  late-blooming  qual- 
ity, the  large  lumpy  clusters  of  white  flowers  changing 
in  fall  to  purple,  red,  and  crimson,  being  showy  rather 
than  beautiful,  and  the  foliage  uninteresting  and  some- 
what insignificant. 

Just  at  the  present  time  there  is  almost  a  craze,  speak- 
ing horticulturally,  for  the  California  privet,  which  is 
really  a  Japanese  species,  ligustrum  ovalifolium.  There 
is  no  doubt  its  popularity  is  based  on  considerable  founda- 
tion, for  it  transplants  easily,  grows  rapidly,  holds  its 
leaves  till  winter,  and  makes  a  great  solid  mass  of  dark 
shining  green,  and  has,  what  is  a  very  unusual  qualification 
in  a  shrub,  the  ability  to  grow  tolerably  well  in  the  shade ; 
and  the  word  ' '  tolerably ' '  is  used  advisedly,  because  no 
shrub  can  be  expected  to  do  as  well  in  the  shade  as  in 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  115 

full  sunlight,  and  very  few  will  succeed  at  all  well  in  the 
shade.  The  difficulty  with  the  California  privet  is  its 
tendency  to  shoot  up  into  stiff,  top-heavy  forms  and  grow 
bare  and  leggy  at  the  base.  It  fails,  moreover,  to  pre- 
sent the  variety  of  form  of  leaf  and  light  and  shadow  and 
coloring  that  give  so  much  pleasure  in  the  hazel,  amel- 
anchiers,  and  several  of  the  viburnums  and  dogwoods. 
There  is  a  privet,  also  from  Japan,  called  ibota,  that  has  a 
rounded,  attractive  leaf,  and  a  much  better  because  more 
bushy  habit,  than  California,  or  ovalifolium.  For  the 
general  purposes  of  the  lawn,  the  old,  well-known  common 
privet,  ligustrum  vulgare,  has  decided  advantages  when 
compared  with  the  California,  because,  though  less  shin- 
ing in  leaf,  the  foliage  is  more  spreading  and  thicker  at 
the  base  of  the  plant. 

It  should  hardly  need  to  be  said,  although  it  does 
need  saying  badly  in  some  quarters,  that  the  practice  of 
clipping  the  privet  into  formal  hedges,  flat  or  rounded 
at  the  top,  and  into  gate-posts  and  other  human  or  inhu- 
man devices,  is  to  be  deprecated.  If  all  the  plants  are 
clipped  like  those  in  a  formal  garden,  there  will  be  a  unity 
of  effect,  whether  we  conceive  the  design  tg  be  suc- 
cessful or  not;  but  to  clip  a  hedge  of  privet  in  different 
forms,  and  then  to  cluster  against  it  undipped  trees  and 
shrubs,  is  hardly  defensible. 

When  we  pause  before  a  favorite  shrub,  like  lonicera 
fragrantissima,  the  fragrant  bush  honeysuckle,  and 
attempt  to  analyze  the  feelings  that  predispose  us  in  its 
favor,  we  find  that  there  is  a  mingling  of  regard  for  the 
useful  and  the  ornamental,  as  displayed  by  the  plant  on 
the  lawn,  and  the  better  we  know  and  the  more  we  use 
/shrubs,  the  more  we  will  come  to  give  increasing  weight 
to  the  useful  qualities, 


116     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

There  are  shrubs,  as  we  have  seen,  that  look  better 
standing  by  themselves,  and  one  of  the  most  notable  of 
these  is  the  dwarf  flowering  horse-chestnut,  with  pictur- 
esque foliage  like  that  of  the  ordinary  horse-chestnut, 
and  spikes  or  racemes  of  white  flowers  that  make  a  fine 
effect,  rising  above  the  broad-spreading  mass  of  the  leaves. 
For  a  reliable  shrub,  the  masses  of  which  mingle  well  in 
any  group  and  bear  fine,  sweet-scented  flowers  and  broad 
effective  leaves,  no  plant  deserves  higher  praise  for  hardi- 
ness, vigor,  and  beauty  than  the  large  sorts  of  philadel- 
phus,  or  mock  orange,  among  which  should  not  be  included 
the  lumpy,  yellow-leaved  kind  that,  in  the  hands  of  the 
nurserymen,  has  had  a  certain  ephemeral  popularity. 

Among  the  good  all-around  shrubs  that  can  be  counted 
on  the  two  fingers,  and  that  are  always  welcome  on  the 
lawn,  we  find  the  rhodotypus  kerrioides,  ranking  high  ir> 
excellence.  There  are  more  showy  shrubs,  doubtless,  but 
for  a  refined,  graceful  habit  and  delicate  green  foliage 
combined  with  considerable  vigor,  for  a  medium-sized 
shrub,  and  adaptability  to  different  soil  and  climate,  it 
is  difficult  to  surpass  the  rhodotypus.  It  has,  moreover, 
an  air  of  the  American  woods,  although  it  is  Japanese, 
and  is  admirable  in  combination  with  shrubs  coming 
direct  from  American  hedge-rows.  Rubus  odoratus,  an 
American  native  shrub  of  similar  character,  has  less 
finish  and  gracefulness,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  full  of 
suggestions  of  woodland  regions. 

As  a  general  rule,  we  are  apt  to  find  most  of  the  spi- 
raeas somewhat  weedy  in  appearance  and  lacking  in  the 
solid  vigor  and  marked  picturesqueness  we  have  a  right 
to  expect  in  shrubs  that  undertake  to  occupy  the  rank  of 
all-around  species.  Among  the  two  or  three  kinds  that 
we  might,  perhaps,  see  fit  to  allow  to  aspire  to  this  rank 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  117 

is  spiraea,  or  neillia,  opulifolia,  or  the  native  ninebark. 
It  is  a  little  coarse,  but  its  vigor  is  so  great,  and  it  has 
so  much  ability  to  grow  in  the  shade  and  in  all  kinds  of 
soil,  and  arrange  itself  in  fine,  picturesque  masses  which 
at  the  same  time  combine  well  with  other  shrubs,  that 
we  find  ourselves  coming  very  near  to  allowing  it  the 
rank,  after  all,  of  a  good  all-around  shrub. 

It  needs  scarcely  be  said  again  that  the  green  forms 
should  be  selected  and  employed,  and  not  the  gold. 
Almost  as  good  a  shrub  in  its  way  is  a  dainty  spiraea 
bearing  masses  of  minute  white  flowers  in  early  spring, 
and  known  by  the  somewhat  formidable  name,  thun- 
bergii ;  and  spiraea  van  houttii,  also,  is  another  species 
which  is  very  distinct,  but  small,  and  graceful  and 
effective  when  it  is  planted  in  the  foreground  in  groups 
by  itself. 

A  very  different  shrub,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  Indian 
currant,  or  symphoricarpus  vulgaris,  which  is  less  distin- 
guished and  refined  in  character  than  the  spiraeas  just 
mentioned,  but  has  a  pleasant  look  of  the  woods,  and  a 
close,  low,  picturesque  growth,  suited  to  banks  and  other 
parts  of  shrub  groups,  where  it  serves  to  grade  down 
successfully  the  larger  shrubs  to  the  herbaceous  plants 
and  grass. 

An  attractive  shrub  of  the  woods  that  is  little  appre- 
ciated is  baccharis  halimifolia.  Its  rounded  masses  of 
picturesque  green  foliage  have  a  unique  appearance  which 
is,  nevertheless,  suggestive  of  naturalness  and  the  forest. 

Myrica  cerifera,  the  candleberry,  is  another  good 
shrub,  of  somewhat  lower  growth,  that  has  never  had 
proper  appreciation  given  its  small,  picturesquely  massed, 
dark-green  leaves,  which  merit  almost  as  much  admira- 
tion as  the  azalea  or  rhododendron. 


118  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

A  distinguished  family  of  shrubs,  a  family  whose  excel- 
lences the  horticulturists  should  never  tire  of  praising, 
is  the  viburnum,  or  snowball.  First  in  general  reputa- 
tion comes  the  graceful  and  refined  viburnum  opulus 
sterilis ;  then  the  common,  high  bush  cranberry,  viburnum 
opulus,  bearing  fine  fruit  in  autumn,  and  white  flowers  in 
June;  and,  finally,  we  find  the  most  lauded  kind  in 
viburnum  plicatum,  the  Japanese  snowball,  with  dark- 
green,  crinkled  leaf,  solid,  erect  form,  and  large  snow- 
ball flowers,  holding  to  the  stems  for  weeks. 

In  spite,  however,  of  these  being  the  kinds  that  have 
thus  far  received  general  appreciation,  it  would  hardly 
be  going  too  far  if  there  should  be  pointed  out  at  least 
half  a  dozen  other  species  of  the  family,  any  one  of 
which  has  more  excellent  qualities  for  general  use  on 
the  lawn  than  those,  good  as  they  undoubtedly  are, 
which  have  just  been  mentioned  as  so  popular,  and, 
strange  to  say,  the  kinds  that  are  referred  to  are  little 
seen  on  the  lawn  in  this  country. 

Most  notable  of  these  viburnums  is  sieboldii,  or  japon- 
icum,  with  its  great,  massive,  crinkled  leaves,  and  large, 
red  seed-vessels  in  August  and  September,  and  white 
flowers  in  June. 

It  grows  into  great  specimens,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
high,  the  equal  of  which,  among  shrubs,  in  excellence, 
can  hardly  be  found  anywhere.  Darker,  and  bearing 
finer  fruit,  viburnum  lantana,  while  being,  perhaps,  less 
picturesque,  has  great  value  for  its  adaptability  to  com- 
binations for  general  eifect  on  the  lawn.  The  pear-leaved 
viburnum,  V.  pyrifolium,  is  little  behind  the  last  in  pic- 
turesqueness,  and  easily  recognized,  with  its  pear-like 
leaf,  as  a  relative ;  and  V.  prunifolium,  a  specially  hardy 
kind,  growing  in  all  soils,  and  richly  colored  in  autumn, 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  119 

should  certainly  be  classed  as  a  shrub  of  the  highest 
value.  When  we  have  added  to  these  viburnums  the 
best  of  all,  perhaps,  for  vigor  and  adaptability,  V. 
dentatum,  we  will  find  that  the  viburnum  family  forms  a 
host  in  itself  as  a  source  of  good  lawn-planting  material ; 
indeed,  we  can  readily  imagine  a  lawn  most  amply  fur- 
nished forth  with  plants  selected  from  its  ranks,  for 
there  are  many  other  good  species  within  the  limits  of 
what  has  been  long  known  as  the  common  snowball 
family. 

There  are  a  few  other  families  that,  like  the  viburnum, 
seem  especially  adapted  to  furnish  almost  all  the  lawn 
needs,  in  the  way  of  shrubs  and  vines,  from  their  own 
ranks,  and  among  these  few  stand  conspicuously  the 
roses.  Bushes  large  and  small,  climbers  and  creepers, 
are  all  found  among  the  various  species  of  roses,  and 
whether  we  use  bushes  of  dark-green,  healthy  foliage, 
bearing  pink  and  white  single  flowers  and  great  red 
seed-vessels,  like  the  rosa  rugosa;  or  delicate,  pictur- 
esque masses,  like  those  of  R.  laxa  or  R.  multiflora;  or 
R.  rubiginosa,  the  American  sweetbrier;  or  climbers, 
like  the  wild  prairie  queen,  R.  setigera,  most  vigorous 
and  picturesque  of  all;  or  R.  wichuriana,  with  dark, 
carpet-like  masses  of  leaves  studded  with  numerous 
white  single  flowers,  we  find  a  delicate,  refined,  but 
entirely  healthy  charm  about  the  whole  of  them  which 
is  quite  unique,  and  which,  fortunately,  perhaps,  does 
not  even  suggest  a  comparison  with  any  other  family. 

All  these  remarks  are  intended  to  apply  to  species  of 
roses,  and  not  to  varieties,  such  as  the  mildewed  and 
rose-bug  attacked  hybrid  perpetuals,  which,  when  they 
are  required  for  their  beautiful  flowers,  should  be  rele- 
gated to  some  secluded  spot  in  the  garden. 


120    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

One  distinguished  family  remains  for  discussion,  al- 
though there  are  many  more,  did  space  permit,  that  we 
would  find  profit  in  considering.  We  refer  to  the  haw- 
thorn, distinguished  for  ages  in  English  song  and  story. 
Unfortunately  for  the  romantic  associations  that  lead  us 
to  value  a  special  plant  which  has  become  part  of  gen- 
eral history,  we  find  that  the  English  hawthorn  does  not 
thrive  here,  owing  to  a  blight  to  which  it  is  subject, 
although,  when  it  does  bloom,  it  easily  keeps  the  high 
reputation  it  has  so  long  held.  Fortunately,  when  we 
are  seeking  for  a  good  species  of  hawthorn,  we  are  not 
obliged  to  pause  at  the  English  form  and  wonder  whether 
we  had  better  take  our  chances  with  it,  for  there  are 
American  species  that  are  entirely  healthy,  hardy,  and 
suited  to  all  soils,  and  possessed  of  a  richness  of  shining 
green  color  and  a  picturesqueness  of  layer-like  masses 
that  is  altogether  excellent,  and  worthy  of  the  most 
distinguished  place  on  the  lawn.  Cratasgus  crus-galli, 
the  cockspur  thorn,  and  C.  coccinea,  are  two  good 
species,  and  there  are  at  least  a  dozen  ethers. 


EVERGREEN  TREES 

TO  persons  who  have  visited,  and  become  familiar 
with,  the  country  seats  of  Europe,  it  is  difficult 
to  explain  why  evergreens  in  America  fail  to 
thrive  as  well,  and  live  as  long,  as  they  do  over  there, 
for  the  soil  and  climate  are  not  very  unlike;  it  may 
be  that  they  are  a  little  moister  on  the  other  side,  per- 
haps, and  less  liable  to  sudden  changes  of  temperature, 
but,  on  the  whole,  they  are  very  similiar.  One  of  the 
most  difficult  lessons  for  foreign  horticulturists  to  learn 
is  the  necessity,  if  success  is  to  be  assured,  of  adapting 
the  selection  of  plants,  and  their  treatment,  strictly  to 
the  results  of  experience  in  America,  without  regard  to 
Old  World  standards.  Whether  an  evergreen  is  likely 
to  live  long  is  not  so  much  the  question  as  whether 
there  is  a  likelihood  of  its  beauty  exhibiting  a  reasonable 
amount  of  endurance.  If  the  lower  limbs  of  trees  are 
likely  to  die,  or  a  rusty  appearance  sets  in,  at  various 
points,  as  a  result  of  disease  and  attacks  of  insects  and 
the  vicissitudes  of  different  seasons  of  heat  and  cold,  we 
will  hardly  like  to  try  them,  although  there  may  be  a 
fair  chance  of  their  lasting  in  some  shape  for  many  years. 
Naturally,  every  one,  especially  if  he  is  inexperienced, 
?s  tempted  to  try  evergreens,  particularly  if  they  are 


122     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

beautiful,  which  may  be  all  well  enough  if  he  does  it 
with  his  eyes  open ;  and,  therefore,  the  author  takes  up 
the  question  of  planting  evergreens  and  comparing  their 
excellence,  to  the  end  that  experiments  of  the  reader  in 
this  direction  may  be  fraught  with  as  little  loss  as  pos- 
sible. 

It  may  be  said  of  pines  that  many  of  them  have  both 
beauty  and  picturesqueness  of  trunk  and  foliage,  even 
when  exhibiting  the  last  stages  of  decay,  and  their 
young,  fresh  growth  can  always  be  depended  upon  to  bo 
charming.  When  we  speak  of  pines  in  America  we  ar.a. 
apt  to  refer  to  white  pines,  which,  in  our  minds,  repre  • 
sent  the  somewhat  typical  and,  without  doubt,  the  besfc 
conception  of  the  general  character  of  the  family.  It 
has  been  frequently  said  that  the  white  pine,  in  Amer- 
ica, performs  relatively  as  important  a  part  in  the  land- 
scape as  the  palm  in  Central  and  Southern  America, 
and  above  the  value  of  mere  visual  beauty  comes  the 
delightful  sound  of  the  wind  in  the  white  pine,  and  the 
fresh  smell  and  elastic  touch  underfoot  of  its  needles. 

In  addition  to  the  white  pine,  there  are  the  Swiss  stone 
pine  (P.  cembra),  and  the  dwarf  mugho  pine,  which 
possess  dark  beauty  and  healthy,  long-life  vigor.  It 
would  be  not  unfair  to  bunch  together  firs,  spruces, 
retinosporas,  American  and  Chinese  arbor-vitaes,  cryp- 
tomerias,  Lawson's  cypresses,  sequoias,  and  junipers,  as 
comparatively  more  or  less  unsatisfactory  after  they 
have  obtained  maturity. 

Like  all  general  statements,  there  are  marked  excep- 
tions to  be  considered,  and  notably  among  these  are  the 
red  cedar  (juniperus  virginiana)  and  the  Oriental  spruce, 
which  are  most  picturesque,  and  fine  at  any  age,  although 
they  are  hard  to  transplant,  unless  set  out  when  young, 


EVERGREEN  TREES  123 

and  with  great  care.  This  group  of  comparatively  unsat- 
isfactory evergreens  might  easily  include  the  yews,  for 
very  few  of  them  are  really  hardy,  except  the  Japanese 
taxus  cuspidata,  and  one  or  two  dwarf  American  spe- 
cies. Yet  the  English  yew,  T.  baccata,  hardly  ever  dies 
from  the  accidents  of  heat  and  cold,  although  it  occa- 
sionally browns  in  early  spring,  when  it  quickly  recovers, 
and  retains,  with  great  persistency,  its  former  pictur- 
esqueness.  Another  exception  is  found  among  the 
spruces,  in  the  case  of  the  common  hemlock,  abies  can- 
adensis,  which  lasts  in  good  order  a  long  time,  and  sel- 
dom suffers  in  winter.  The  trouble  is,  it  is  generally 
used  in  hedges,  where  its  crowded  condition  tends  to 
seriously  impair  its  capacity  for  long  life. 

One  of  the  chief  drawbacks  to  the  use  of  evergreens 
is  met  in  the  accidents  that  occur  during  the  process  of 
transplanting.  Like  most  accidents,  many  of  them,  we 
are  sure,  might  have  been  avoided  by  intelligent  care, 
which  means  puddling  the  roots  with  mud,  and  keeping 
them  absolutely  from  the  air,  until  they  are  actually  set 
in  the  ground.  The  small  fibers  of  the  roots  of  ever- 
greens are  so  sensitive  that  they  readily  shrivel  up  and 
die  when  exposed  directly  to  the  adverse  influences  of 
the  sun  and  wind. 


EVERGREEN  SHRUBS 

THERE  is  a  charm  about  evergreen  shrubs  that 
attracts  every  one ;  why,  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
Perhaps  it  is  a  kind  of  artistic  quality  and 
dainty  disposition  of  the  leaves  that  is  peculiar  to  the 
race,  and  which  certainly  does  not  pertain  in  the  same 
degree  to  other  inhabitants  of  the  lawn.  Then,  more- 
over, it  is  a  common  fancy  with  people  whose  knowledge 
of  plants  is  limited,  that  they  must  have  evergreen 
leaves  in  large  quantities  on  their  lawn,  in  order  to 
prolong  its  beauty  throughout  the  winter,  forgetting 
that  a  birch,  or  red-twigged  dogwood,  or  a  great,  naked, 
sturdy  oak  will  be  able  to  easily  enter  into  comparison 
with  the  finest  evergreen  shrub  for  the  award  of  superi- 
ority in  picturesqueness  and  abiding  charm.  Further- 
more, we  should  remember  that  there  are  deciduous 
shrubs  which  in  the  American  climate  grow  better  and 
bloom  more  freely  than  they  do  abroad,  and  that  are  al- 
together quite  as  picturesque-looking  as  the  evergreens, 
even  in  winter. 

The  reason  that  has  induced  the  author  to  dwell  thus 
at  length  on  the  comparative  beauty  of  deciduous  and 
evergreeen  shrubs,  is  that  we  will  be  obliged  to  confess, 
as  to  usefulness,  that  evergreen  shrubs  are  not  always 


EVERGREEN  SHRUBS  125 

hardy  under  the  stress  of  American  seasons ;  certainly 
not  as  hardy  as  deciduous  shrubs.  There  is  no  intention, 
on  the  author's  part,  to  discourage  the  planting  of  ever- 
green shrubs.  Far  from  it,  for  he  would  plant  just  as 
many  as  he  could  aiford,  with  due  respect  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  place ;  but  he  would  do  it  always  with  the 
feeling  that  they  should  be  set  in  sheltered  places,  and 
under  the  protection,  but  not  shade,  of  neighboring  trees, 
and  he  would  feel  proportionally  proud  if  he  succeeded 
in  growing  them,  and  not  too  much  cast  down  if  he  did 
lose  one  now  and  then. 

It  would  be  only  fair,  after  making  such  a  broad 
statement  about  the  tenderness  of  evergreen  shrubs,  to 
produce  at  once  the  apparently  necessary  exception  to 
every  rule,  in  the  instance  of  the  two  special  hollies  of 
America  and  Japan,  known  respectively  by  the  name  ilex 
opaca  and  ilex  crenata.  It  may  be  said,  without  fear  of 
contradiction,  that  these  hollies,  when  they  are  once  suc- 
cessfully transplanted  and  vigorous,  are  entirely  hardy, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  Japanese  species  the  transplanting 
is  easily  eifected.  The  American  holly  is  shy  in  this  re- 
spect, and  needs  coaxing,  by  transplanting  at  an  early  age, 
but,  like  its  Japanese  relative,  since  it  does  not  come 
to  maturity  early,  it  retains  its  full  beauty  for  a  long 
period  of  time.  If  the  reader  wishes  to  realize  what  its 
beauty  can  become  under  favorable  circumstances,  he 
should  visit  some  of  the  natural  holly  groves  of  New 
Jersey,  and  see,  in  March,  when  vegetation  is  all  dor- 
mant, a  number  of  hollies,  twenty  feet  high,  bearing 
large,  picturesque,  shining  leaves,  disposed  in  graceful 
masses,  and  further  adorned  with  numerous  large, 
bright-red  berries,  borne  in  full  beauty  from  the  past 
fall.  It  is  hard  to  conceive  of  any  sensible  reason  that 


126    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

should  be  sufficient  to  account  for  the  lack  of  popularity 
of  this  shrub,  unless  it  be  its  slow  growth  and  shy  trans- 
planting. 

But,  fortunately,  we  are  able  to  turn  to  our  other 
holly,  ilex  crenata,  and  say  that  here  is  a  shrub  that  is 
as  easily  transplanted,  as  hardy  and  rapid-growing  (at 
least  a  foot  a  year,  when  once  established),  as  some  of 
the  best  deciduous  shrubs — berberis  thunbergii,  for  in- 
stance; and  then  the  shining  light-green  leaves,  like 
those  of  box  trees,  how  beautifully  .they  are  disposed  in 
picturesque,  close-set  masses,  relieved  from  any  sugges- 
tion of  stiffness  by  the  young  growth  that  spreads  like  a 
halo  around  the  foliage.  Such  plants  as  these  hollies, 
as  distinguished  from  deciduous  shrubs,  are  unsuited  for 
grouping  with  other  plants,  being  really  too  precious  to 
exhibit  otherwise  than  in  masses  by  themselves. 

As  we  turn  to  the  less  hardy  evergreen  shrubs,  and 
assume  the  attitude  of  accepting  their  small  weaknesses, 
and  of  prizing  success  the  more  because  they  are  some- 
times weak,  we  find  ourselves  valuing  azalea  amoena  as 
one  of  our  choicest  possessions,  with  its  thick  masses  of 
small,  bright-red  flowers  in  spring,  and  its  thick, 
rounded  leaf  contours,  dark  green  in  summer  and  bright 
red  in  autumn.  Cratsegus  pyracantha,  the  evergreen 
thorn,  has  similar  advantages  in  picturesqueness  of  foliage 
of  a  more  irregular  sort,  which  often  browns  in  winter. 
The  mahonia,  or  berberis  aquif  olia,  is  another  picturesque 
evergreen  shrub,  exhibiting  the  most  varied  shapes  and 
coloring  of  foliage,  and  though  it  browns  often,  it  seldom 
actually  dies,  and,  consequently,  deserves  consideration 
as  a  lawn  plant. 

It  may  be  said,  however,  though  the  author  is  not  pre- 
pared to  allow  that  it  is  justly  said,  that  in  America  *he 


EVERGREEN  SHRUBS  127 

best  hardy  evergreen  shrubs  are  the  rhododendrons,  and 
it  must  be  certainly  allowed  that  they  are  the  most  pop- 
alar.  It  is  far  from  the  author's  intention  to  combat 
this  idea,  for  he,  too,  would  have  rhododendrons  on  every 
lawn,  but  it  might  be  well  to  mention  that  rhododendrons 
have  a  way  of  dying  badly  if  they  are  not  born  of  the 
proper  strain.  Everestianum  is  an  instance  of  this 
hardy  strain,  displaying  fine  foliage  and  purple  flowers, 
with  none  of  that  vivid  red  that  betokens  a  tender  tropical 
breed.  Yet  there  are  good  red  kinds,  like  H.  W.  Sargent, 
but  certain  reds  are,  nevertheless,  to  be  feared  on  ac- 
count of  this  hectic  flush,  which  seems  to  betoken  a  con- 
stitution unsuited  to  stand  the  strain  of  the  hot  sun  and 
sudden  cold  winds  of  American  springs.  There  is  good 
reason  to  believe,  reason  based  on  long  practical  ex- 
perience, that  the  rhododendron  suffers  in  winter  more 
because  its  young  wood  has  not  succeeded  in  ripening 
properly,  being  retarded  in  late  summer  by  droughts,  and 
pushed  into  new  growths  by  rainy  autumns.  In  view  of 
this  highly  probable  cause,  it  becomes  easily  evident  that 
it  is  always  a  good  plan  to  grow  rhododendrons  in  strong, 
yellow  loam,  unmixed  with  peat,  and  in  the  open  sunlight, 
where  the  new  wood  can  healthily  mature  itself.  It  is 
no  objection  to  this  treatment,  moreover,  that  it  tends 
to  develop  greater  numbers  of  the  splendid  flower  clus- 
ters which  are,  perhaps,  not  to  be  surpassed  for  magnifi- 
cence by  any  other  bloom  of  the  temperate  zone. 

The  kalmia  latifolia,  or  mountain  laurel  of  American 
woods,  is  an  evergreen  shrub  of  the  highest  excellence, 
and  although  not  as  showy  in  bloom,  it  discovers  to  the 
observer  who  will  take  time  to  appreciate  it  a  more 
daintily  formed  and  exquisite  flower  than  that  of  the 
rhododendron.  The  leaves  are  light  green,  and  not 


128  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

close-set,  but  decidedly  picturesque  in  their  disposition, 
and  while  the  kalmia  equals  the  rhododendron  in  its  abil- 
ity to  transplant  in  the  spring  without  apparent  check 
or  injury,  it  should  not  be  planted,  any  more  than  the 
rhododendron,  later  than  August,  on  account  of  the  bad 
effect  of  many  winters  on  most  all  evergreen  shrubs, 
and  especially  on  those  that  have  been  planted  too  late 
for  a  good  set  of  new  roots  to  establish  themselves  dur- 
ing the  autumn. 

Among  the  many  beautiful  shrubs  which  come  from  the 
mountain  ranges  of  Tennessee,  Georgia,  and  North  Caro- 
lina, there  are  few  finer  than  the  andromedas,  notably  A. 
floribunda  and  A.  catesbii.  The  first  is  notable  for  the 
abundant  white  flowers  it  bears  among  the  comparatively 
dwarf  masses  of  dark-green,  handsome  leaves,  and  the 
second  for  the  beauty  of  its  large,  shining  green 
foliage,  that  is  hardly  surpassed  by  that  of  any  other 
species  of  evergreen  shrubs. 

Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  light,  pleasing  green, 
close-set  foliage  of  the  tree  box,  and  its  contours  are 
often  fine,  but  we  fancy  its  very  familiarity  in  these  days, 
when  romantic  association  with  childhood  gardens  and 
old  colonial  yards  has  again  come  into  fashion,  has  lent 
it  a  slightly  factitious  value.  It  may  be  readily  allowed 
that  it  is  a  picturesque  shrub,  easily  transplanted,  and 
valuable  on  account  of  its  association,  but  when  we  come 
to  compare  it  with  the  Japanese  holly,  ilex  crenata,  both 
for  hardiness  and  variety  and  richness  of  charm,  we 
will  find  it  somewhat  wanting. 


HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PLANTS 

IT  is  a  little  difficult  to  describe  this  class  of  plants  to 
the  ordinary  reader,  because  they  are  both  hardy 
and,  in  some  cases,  moderately  long-lived.  The 
leaves  are  not  less  beautiful  than  those  of  shrubs  or 
trees,  and  the  flowers  are  celebrated  for  their  high 
range  of  quantity  and  quality;  and,  in  fact,  all  that 
makes  them  at  all  distinct  from  shrubs  is  the  peculiar 
habit  they  have  of  dying  down  every  winter,  and  start- 
ing up  again  in  the  spring.  When  we  turn  to  the  woods, 
and  proceed  to  gather  wild  flowers,  we  should  remember 
that  we  are  really  gathering  hardy  herbaceous  plants  in 
most  instances,  for  among  them  are  included  nearly  all 
of  the  most  attractive  as  well  as  most  modest  and  ex- 
quisite blooms  of  the  forest  and  field.  In  another  place 
we  have  indicated  their  proper  habitation  on  the  lawn  to 
be — and  it  will  bear  repeating — in  the  foreground  of 
shrub  borders,  where  they  serve  to  round  out  and 
carry  down  the  mass  of  foliage  to  the  ground,  and,  also, 
we  have  found  that  they  live  and  look  well  in  nooks  and 
corners,  outside  of  the  house,  and  at  the  foot  of  stone 
walls  and  fences. 

It  should  not  be  inferred  from  anything  that  has  been 
said  here,  that  hardy  herbaceous  plants,  or  perennials, 


130    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

as  they  are  often  called,  because  they  are  hardy,  have  a 
mere  weedy  character  that  will  afford  excuse  for  neglect 
on  account  of  their  readiness  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
It  would  seem  to  be  an  axiom  in  horticulture  that  there 
is  no  plant  that  is  worth  attempting  to  cultivate  that 
will  not  repay  the  most  liberal  supply  of  nutriment  and 
care  of  every  kind.  Naturally,  herbaceous  plants  do 
not  make  an  exception  to  this  rule,  any  more  than  the 
common  wild  shrub  of  the  fields,  which  is  often  the  best 
hard- wooded  plant  we  can  use  on  our  lawns.  There  is, 
consequently,  something  to  be  conceded  to  their  forest- 
suggesting  appearance,  in  their  arrangement  along  the 
borders  of  shrubs,  whereby  an  entirely  irregular  pictur- 
esque and  wildwood  effect  will  be  produced.  It  is  not 
intended  to  convey  by  this  term  '  *  wildwood  ' '  the  idea 
that  there  should  be  no  carefully  worked  out  design  with 
reference  to  securing  bloom  in  the  different  months  of 
the  season,  and  in  grouping  with  relation  to  color  and 
form,  but  only  that  by  cunningly  devised  methods  there 
shall  appear  to  be  a  certain  artlessness. 

Consequently,  it  behooves  us  to  see  that  no  formal  beds 
are  designed  that  are  unrelated  to  shrub  borders,  or  cor- 
ners of  buildings  and  fences ;  and,  furthermore,  that  the 
lines  shall  so  blend  with  the  border  lines  of  shrubs  that 
they  shall  practically  merge  into  them.  So  much  depends 
on  the  mass  effect  of  herbaceous  plants,  as  distinguished 
from  their  individual  characteristics,  that  it  is  a  good  idea 
to  set  them  thickly  in  the  bed,  with  the  expectation  of, 
in  four  or  five  years,  lifting  and  separating  them,  and 
adding  or  taking  away  material,  and  resetting  them. 
It  is  only  in  this  way  that  really  satisfactory  results 
can  be  obtained  with  herbaceous  plants,  for  thinning  out 
of  thick  planting  must  be  attended  to  as  well  as  the  cul- 


HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PLANTS          131 

tivation  of  the  soil,  whatever  the  kind  of  plant  may  be. 
Again,  the  wise  horticulturist  is  he  who,  ignoring  any 
question  of  expense,  invariably  secures  the  best  lawn- 
planting  material  he  can  get,  that  can  be  readily  trans- 
planted and  bought  at  a  reasonable  price,  whether  it  be 
a  tree  or  a  herbaceous  plant,  for  in  the  end  it  will  be 
found  to  be  the  cheapest  and  best  way,  as  the  desired 
result  can  thus  be  obtained  quickly,  and  the  length  of 
time  the  beauty  of  the  plant  can  be  enjoyed  will  greatly 
differ  from  that  of  the  small,  weakly  specimen  whose 
chances  of  life  and  vigor  must  be  proportionally  uncer- 
tain. 

Lack  of  space  will  not  permit  us  to  dwell  as  long  as 
might  be  desirable  on  the  numerous  beautiful  peren- 
nials, but  we  will  endeavor  to  look  at  some  of  the  most 
attractive,  and,  at  the  same  time,  most  useful  and  least 
weedy,  members  of  the  different  families.  If  any  one 
will  take  a  catalogue  and  visit  the  several  nurseries,  and 
really  examine  the  different  merits  and  defects  of  herba- 
ceous plants,  he  will  soon  be  surprised  to  see  how  rapidly 
he  is  learning  to  shorten  his  list  of  kinds  available  for 
the  lawn.  It  has  been  already  intimated  that  a  list  of  the 
good,  all-around  trees,  and  also  shrubs,  could  be  counted 
on  the  ten  fingers,  and  the  same  result  will  occur  if  her- 
baceous plants  are  studied  in  the  same  spirit  that  seeks 
only  satisfactory  lawn-planting  material,  and  not  mere 
horticultural  curiosities. 

The  same  principle  of  treatment  will  lead  farther,  and 
will  induce  us  to  use  large  quantities  or  colonies  of  one 
herbaceous  plant,  and  to  keep  in  the  shrub  borders  of 
the  flower  garden  only  the  kinds  that  are  not  weedy 
looking,  and  that  have  sufficient  solidity  and  symmetry 
of  form  to  assimilate  them  more  or  less  in  general  effect 


132    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

to  the  ordinary  hard- wooded  shrub.  It  will  not  take  long 
to  consider  those  strictly  suited  to  the  garden.  Garden 
phloxes,  as  distinguished  from  annual  phloxes,  furnish 
a  good  illustration  of  such  herbaceous  plants.  Their 
colors  are  rich,  pure,  and  varied,  and  their  stems  clean 
and  solid-looking,  and  of  moderate  growth.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  lilies,  such  as  lilium  auratum,  the  golden 
lily,  white,  spotted  with  maroon,  and  showing  a  wide 
gold  band ;  L.  candidum,  the  Madonna  lily ;  L.  longifolium, 
also  a  good  white  kind;  L.  harrisii  (the  Bermuda  Easter 
lily),  and  the  beautiful  Japan  lily,  L.  speciosum,  both  red 
and  white ;  besides  native  field  lilies,  L.  superbum  and  L. 
tigrinum.  Lilies  stand  so  firm  and  tall  against  a  stone 
wall  or  solid  mass  of  shrubbery,  that  we  do  not  wonder 
at  the  praise  the  poets  have  given  them. 

Similar  praise,  except  that  they  are  not  so  tall,  may  be 
given  the  irises,  with  their  beautiful,  solid,  simple  leaves 
and  remarkable  flowers. 

Iris  koempferii,  whose  shades  of  purple,  lavender,  and 
blue,  marked  with  bands  of  straw-color,  appearing  on 
flowers  formed  as  curiously  as  those  of  any  orchid,  make 
it  noteworthy  in  any  association  of  plants,  and  only  a 
little  less  distinguished  than  the  German  iris,  the  beauti- 
ful tints  of  whose  different  kinds  last  during  a  number  of 
months  of  the  year ;  finally,  even  the  make-believe  iris, 
pseudacorus,  or  yellow  flag,  shows  a  clean,  firm  finish 
of  form  that  sets  off  well  its  yellow  flowers,  and  ren- 
ders it  suited  alike  to  the  garden  and  the  shrub  border, 
or  the  edge  of  pools  of  water. 

Single  dahlias  have  a  dignity  of  carriage,  although 
spreading  and  picturesque  in  form  and  charming  in 
single  flowering  effect,  that  seems  to  give  them  a  place 
in  the  garden.  There  is  a  dainty,  richly-colored,  yellow- 


HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PLANTS          133 

crimson  flower  of  medium  growth,  the  gaillardia,  that  has 
a  form  and  color  that  suits  it  well  to  the  garden.  The 
erect  forms  and  rich  color  of  the  gladioli  also  give  their 
splendid  flowers  a  right  to  take  their  place  in  the  flower 
garden. 

Of  the  lower-growing  types,  suited  to  formal  places 
where  they  stand  alone,  as  far  as  a  background  of  trees 
and  shrubs  go,  we  find  the  brilliant,  yellow,  free,  all 
summer  blooming  coreopsis  lanceolata ;  and  larger  sized 
dielytra  or  dicentra  spectabilis;  and  the  sweet-william, 
dianthus  barbatus,  with  flowers  of  various  hues,  red, 
white,  etc.,  excepting  blue  and  yellow,  growing  on  solid 
stems  a  foot  high,  in  flat  terminal  clusters ;  and  the  lovely 
carpet- forming,  creeping,  phlox  subulata,  with  its  broad 
patches,  in  spring,  of  minute  red  and  white  flowers. 

A  whole  paragraph  would  not  seem  too  much  for  the 
proper  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  narcissus  family, 
the  daintiest,  perhaps,  of  all  plants  that  belong  dis- 
tinctly to  the  garden.  Narcissi,  or  daffodils,  have  long, 
narrow,  simple,  interesting  leaves  that  keep  erect  and 
effective,  and,  above  all,  bear  in  a  dignified  way  of 
their  own  yellow  or  white  flowers  half  an  inch  across. 
Lovely  sulphur  and  yellow  colors  specially  characterize 
them,  and  the  shape  of  the  flower  is  curious  and  beau- 
tiful in  every  way,  and  quite  difficult  to  describe.  The 
poet's  narcissus,  the  most  beautiful  of  narcissi,  snow- 
white  at  the  base  of  the  flower,  with  a  crown  of  saffron 
yellow  bordered  with  scarlet,  belongs  to  the  same  sec- 
tion of  plants.  The  best  daffodils  are  N.  pseudo-nar- 
cissus, the  Lenten  lily,  with  solitary  flowers  of  a  bright 
sulphur ;  N.  bicolor,  pale  yellow,  and  N.  princeps,  white, 
and  N.  incomparabilis,  with  a  larger  flower  and  a  shorter 
crown,  two  and  a  half  inches  wide,  with  a  paler  base. 


134    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

The  N.  tazetta,  or  polyanthus  narcissus,  bears  a  number 
of  fragrant  flowers  on  a  stem,  and  is  white,  with  a  crown 
of  rich  yellow.  There  are,  in  fact,  scores  of  varieties 
of  narcissi,  nearly  all  of  which  are  beautiful  and  early- 
blooming.  The  narcissi  will  succeed  and  look  well  in 
beds,  but  are,  after  all,  dainty,  retiring  flowers,  that 
would  naturally  seek  retired  places  in  borders  of  the 
garden  or  shrub  group. 

The  humble  but  dainty  and  charming  lilies-of-the- 
valley,  and  the  cheerful  yellow  crocuses,  both  find  suit- 
able places  in  corners  of  the  garden,  or  nooks  of  the 
shrub  border.  The  anemone  japonica  is  also  a  suitable 
and  beautiful  garden  plant. 

It  may  seem  to  the  reader  that  the  list  of  plants  suit- 
able for  the  garden  is  meager,  and  it  must  be  confessed 
that  it  is,  in  view  of  the  richness  of  the  list  of  herbaceous 
plants  which  is  rightly  offered  as  beautiful  in  nursery- 
men's catalogues,  but  it  will  be  found  that  their  foliage, 
for  the  most  part,  is  defective,  and  not  suited  for  beds 
in  the  garden.  It  tumbles  apart,  or  is  weedy-looking, 
and  makes  an  untidy  appearance,  especially  towards  fall. 

There  is,  on  the  other  hand,  no  difficulty  in  finding- 
plenty  of  suitable  places  for  all  the  many  beautiful  her- 
baceous plants  we  may  desire,  among  and  alongside 
the  shrubs  on  the  lawn.  Here  there  will  be  a  back- 
ground that  will  relieve  the  uninteresting  character  of 
their  foliage,  and  their  weedy  and  irregular  habit,  espe- 
cially toward  fall,  will  be  readily  obscured  in  the  general 
effect  by  the  more  dominant  character  of  large  trees  and 
shrubs.  It  is,  of  course,  evident  that  skill  may  be  dis- 
played in  finding  places  for,  and  in  selecting  just  the 
right  quantities  of,  such  plants  as  will  render  the  scene 
brilliant  and  at  the  same  time  not  uncouth  and  untidy. 


HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PLANTS          135 

The  reader  may  have  long  admired  such  plants  as 
hollyhocks  and  sunflowers,  both  in  color  and  in  form, 
but  he  may  not  fully  realize,  until  he  examines  them 
again,  that  the  foliage  is  shabby  in  summer,  fading 
early,  and  the  shape  of  the  growth  stiff  and  formal. 
And  so  it  goes  through  the  long  list  of  spiraeas,  asters, 
asclepias,  milkweeds,  campanulas,  dahlias,  larkspurs,  fox- 
gloves, marsh  and  rose-mallows,  poppies,  peonies,  rud- 
beckias,  helenium  autumnale,  chrysanthemums,  golden- 
rods,  pyrethrum  or  chrysanthemum  uliginosum — the  giant 
daisies — and  salvias. 

Herbaceous  spiraeas  are  pretty  and  feathery  in  bloom, 
and  should  be  distinguished  from  the  hard-wooded  kinds, 
like  S.  thunbergii.  Their  flowers  are  excellent,  in  many 
cases,  for  cutting  and  for  fresh  bloom,  although  when 
out  of  flower  they  are  not  specially  attractive.  The 
asters  are  a  lovely  family,  familiar  to  many  along  road- 
sides of  the  'Eastern  and  Middle  States,  the  blue  color 
of  their  masses  making  a  decided  and  attractive  feat- 
ure in  the  landscape.  Their  foliage,  however,  is  not 
especially  effective  in  the  garden,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  the  milkweeds,  which  are  so  fine  in  the  fields, 
and  also  concerning  the  campanulas;  but  the  dahlias 
should  have  a  moment's  longer  consideration,  because 
they  bloom  in  late  fall.  The  double  dahlia  has,  unfor- 
tunately, a  stiff,  rosette-like  flower,  and  needs  staking, 
which  makes  it  unattractive  when  out  of  flower.  In 
form  of  foliage  and  flower,  the  single  dahlia  is  much 
superior.  As  a  fall  flower,  the  chrysanthemum  has  great 
value,  on  account  of  the  variety  and  great  beauty  of  its 
many-shaped  and  tinted  flowers.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  only  a  few  kinds,  of  a  simple  but- 
ton-like or  lightly  fringed  shape,  are  entirely  hardy,  and 


136    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

on  this  account  the  lawn  is  a  good  deal  debarred  from 
using  it. 

Delphiniums  (larkspurs)  make  us  think  of  old  gardens 
and  childhood  days,  and  their  beauties  are  certainly 
great  if  the  foliage  would  only  make  as  good  an  effect  in 
the  garden  as  the  flowers,  which  are  dainty  and  charm- 
ing, with  unusual  form  and  color.  Rose-mallows  and 
marsh-mallows  have  large,  splendid  flowers,  both  rose 
and  white,  but  the  leaves  are  not  attractive  in  habit. 
Foxgloves  are  effective  and  curious  in  appearance,  and 
poppies  are  splendid  in  red  and  scarlet  color,  but  their 
foliage  in  the  garden  leaves  much  to  be  desired. 

Peonies  have  splendid,  large,  early  flowers,  with  pure 
rich  tints  of  solid  red  or  white,  and  develop  into  large 
clumps,  which  stand  in  borders  and  corners  of  the 
grounds,  their  leaves  being  gathered  into  loose  masses 
which  fall  into  decay  in  late  summer.  The  single  peo- 
nies, because  the  flowers  are  single  and  the  foliage  more 
compact,  are  better  suited  to  the  garden.  There  are  & 
great  many  other  attractive  herbaceous  plants  whicL 
need  planting  by  themselves,  behind  or  mixed  with, 
shrubs  and  trees,  where  the  peculiarity  of  their  habit  will 
not  mar  the  general  effect  of  the  lawn,  and  where  abun- 
dant bloom  can  be  cut  from  them.  Notable  among  these 
plants  may  be  mentioned  the  great  yellow  sunflowers, 
six  to  eight  feet  high ;  the  free-blooming,  showy,  black- 
eyed  susans ;  rudbeckias ;  helenium  autumnale ;  golden-rod 
or  solidagos ;  the  giant  daisy,  pyrethrum  or  chrysanthe- 
mum uliginosum,  and  the  loose-headed  salvias. 

It  seems  to  be  treating  so  lovely  a  class  of  plants  as 
the  perennials  with  actual  discourtesy  to  pass  them  by 
with  no  more  detailed  mention  of  the  few  named,  and 
with  entire  neglect  of  the  many  beautiful  kinds  that  are 


HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PLANTS          137 

not  named;  but  it  has  been  the  author's  special  object, 
throughout  this  book,  to  deal  with  the  practical  princi- 
ples of  ornamenting  the  home  grounds  rather  than  with 
the  discussion  of  attractions  of  individual  plants,  and  to 
therefore  cite  plants  as  illustrations  of  points  which  he 
may  desire  to  make,  and  not  as  objects  to  be  dwelt  on 
with  simple  delight  and  appreciation. 


AQUATIC  PLANTS 

THE  growth  of  aquatic  plants,  although  long  per- 
formed in  the  tanks  of  greenhouses,  is  a  com- 
paratively recent  acquisition  on  the  lawn,  where 
it  serves,  when  arranged  properly,  to  greatly  enhance 
the  charms  of  pools  and  streams  of  water  and  their 
shores,  as  well  as  the  surface  of  fountain  basins,  on  both 
public  and  private  grounds. 

A  half  cask  filled  with  a  little  good  mold  and  water 
may  easily  serve  to  secure  for  the  smallest  village  yard 
the  enjoyment  of  the  charms,  and  they  are  many,  of 
hardy  aquatic  plants.  The  shores  of  pools  or  streams 
of  very  humble  dimensions  may  present  a  creditable  ex- 
hibition of  aquatic  plants  by  accumulating,  for  their 
growth,  deep  rich  mold  along  their  margins  and  at  their 
bottoms,  although  care  should  be  taken  to  confine  the 
roots  of  such  kinds  as  nelumbium  speciosum  by  means 
of  boxes  or  bricks  or  stone  partitions,  to  prevent  an 
overgrowth  which  will  soon  occupy  the  whole  surface  of 
the  water,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  picturesque 
beauty  of  the  scene.  The  great  leaves  of  the  lotus  are 
extremely  decorative,  and  striking  in  effect,  to  be  com- 
pared only — if  we  may  be  allowed  so  humble  a  compari- 
son— to  the  splendid  leaves  of  a  pumpkin  vine ;  and,  like 


AQUATIC  PLANTS  139 

some  great  rose,  the  flower  rises  on  a  long  stem  from  the 
general  mass,  with  seed-vessels  borne  later  on  that  are 
strangely  like  the  spray  of  a  watering-pot,  whence  the 
botanical  name,  nelumbium. 

The  lotus  of  the  Nile,  nelumbium  speciosum  (and 
there  is  a  yellow  American  species,  luteum),  is,  of  course, 
a  name  to  conjure  with  in  dealing  with  the  ordinary  read- 
ing public,  but  the  beauty  of  several  of  the  hardy  white 
nymphseas,  lying  in  picturesque  clusters  on  the  water, 
form,  to  the  author's  mind,  far  more  attractive  objects 
than  the  lotus  on  the  pools  and  streams  of  the  ordinary 
lawn.  They  seem  always  neat  and  finished  in  their  de- 
sign, and  elegant  and  decorative  beyond  the  capacity  of 
words  to  express.  The  way  the  perfect  white  flowers 
are  arranged  on  the  shining  clusters  of  green  leaves,  as 
they  float  on  the  water,  is  a  sight  to  see  for  one's  self, 
and  not  to  read  of  in  a  book.  There  is  a  little  white 
lily,  N.  pygmea,  about  the  size  of  a  silver  half-dollar, 
that  illustrates  the  truth  of  this  statement  with  special 
effectiveness. 

Unfortunately,  there  are  only  a  few  hardy  kinds  of 
nymphseas,  or  water-lilies,  chief  among  which  are  N. 
odorata,  the  Cape  Cod  lily,  and  its  varieties.  There  is  a 
large  white  lily,  N.  alba  candidissima,  which  is  much 
used,  and  by  the  employment  of  a  little  shelter  and  heat, 
in  the  form  of  a  tank  of  warm  water,  in  even  the  smallest 
greenhouse,  other  beautiful  forms  of  water-lilies  may  be 
secured  for  the  ordinary  lawn.  Among  the  best  kinds 
of  these  half-hardy  water-lilies  may  be  mentioned  nym- 
phsea  devoniensis,  nymphsea  zanzibarensis  azurea  and 
rosea,  nymphaea  flava,  and  nymphaea  sturteventii. 

The  capacity  of  the  pool  for  beautifying  its  surface 
with  aquatic  plants  does  not  end,  by  any  means,  with 


140  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

lotuses  and  water-lilies,  for  there  are  curious  water-hya- 
cinths of  the  pontederia  family — a  floating  plant,  with 
swollen  leaf  stalks  and  blue  flowers,  looking  like  an 
orchid;  and  the  water-poppy,  limnocharis  humboldtii, 
with  round,  bright-green  floating  leaves,  and  solitary- 
large  sulphur  flowers  with  three  petals ;  and,  finally,  the 
water-hawthorn,  with  flowers  in  white,  short  spikes, 
which  should  be  treated  like  the  water-poppies.  Then 
there  is  the  water-anemone,  ranunculus  aquatica;  and 
pitcher-plants,  sarracenia  purpurea;  and  arrow-heads, 
sagittaria  sagittif olia ;  and  the  floating  water-plantain, 
with  white  flowers  borne  on  long-stalked,  small,  elliptical 
leaves ;  and  on  a  little  drier  ground,  irises,  and  one  or  two 
orchids,  such  as  cypripediums ;  and,  finally,  the  excellent 
yellow  flag,  iris  pseudacorus,  already  mentioned. 

In  closing  these  few,  and  quite  inadequate,  remarks 
on  aquatic  plants,  the  author  desires  to  point  out  that 
natural  and  quiet  pools  or  streams  seem  to  suit  them 
best,  although  a  fountain  basin  is  well  fitted  for  the 
same  purpose,  where  a  small  drip  of  water  or  moderate 
spray  disturbs  but  little  the  surface.  Rock-bordered 
cemented  pools  for  aquatics  hardly  ever  look  quite  suc- 
cessful, whereas  a  drink-hole  for  cows  in  the  meadow 
may  support  pond-lilies  for  years  with  the  most  charm- 
ing and  appropriate  effect. 


HARDY  VINES  AND  CLIMBERS 

NOTHING  in  the  way  of  lawn-planting  material 
probably  contributes  as  much  to  the  natural 
and  picturesque  effect  of  the  home  grounds  as 
the  climbing  and  creeping  vines  that  may  be  used  on  it. 
It  is  not  true,  perhaps,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  but  there 
seems  to  be  nothing  so  wild  in  vegetation,  so  essentially 
natural-looking,  as  certain  climbing  or  creeping  vines. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  all  climbers  have  exactly  this  effect 
on  one,  for  the  ampelopsis  veitchii  or  tricuspidata  has,  at 
maturity,  a  large,  shining,  elegantly  shaped  foliage,  which 
attaches  itself  to  stone  walls  like  English  ivy,  and  masses 
together  like  shingles  on  a  house,  one  leaf  over  the  other, 
in  a  dignified  and  civilized  manner,  as  far  removed  as  pos- 
sible from  the  wild,  tangling  habit  of  the  woodbine  or 
Virginia  silk.  One  of  these  well-civilized  vines  is  the 
jackmanii  type  of  the  large-flowered  clematis,  with  its 
delicate  masses  of  large,  star-shaped  purple  flowers,  and 
with  it  may  be  classed  the  white  henryii  and  lavender 
lanuginosa ;  but  Japanese  clematis  paniculata  is  literally 
a  wild  thing,  throwing  out  almost  limitless  quantities  of 
small  white  flowers  during  the  latter  part  of  summer, 
and  climbing  over  everything  in  an  inextricable  tangle. 
Of  the  same  general  wild  character,  in  this  respect,  are 
clematis  virginiana  and  C.  flammula,  while  little  behind 


142    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

them  come  the  honeysuckles,  which,  though  incapable 
of  climbing  to  comparatively  high  altitudes  as  rapidly  and 
in  as  effective  a  manner,  have,  nevertheless,  unrivalled 
aptitude  for  covering  stone  walls  and  the  borders  of 
shrub  groups  in  the  thickest  and  most  picturesque  way, 
besides  having  the  faculty  of  living  and  growing  almost 
everywhere. 

Somewhat  less  rampant  and  wild-looking,  we  find  the 
common  Virginia  creeper,  ampelopsis  quinquefolia,  per- 
forming the  most  efficient  work  of  all,  in  covering  with 
rapidity  and  perfection  old  stone  walls,  banks,  and  any 
large  objects  that  need  herbaceous  covering,  and,  withal, 
presenting  specially  rich  autumn  coloring.  Even  more 
decorative  than  the  ampelopsis  are  the  different  hardy 
grape  vines.  The  native  kinds,  vitis  labrusca  and  vitis 
cordifolia,  grow  rapidly,  and  are  very  effective  in  the 
way  their  leaves  climb  over  stumps,  but  the  Japanese 
vine,  vitis  coignetias,  seems  to  have  equal  vigor  and 
a  magnificent  and  varied  coloring  of  leaf  in  autumn. 
For  training  along  the  eaves  of  houses,  and  piling  up 
in  highly  picturesque  masses  on  the  roofs  of  arbors, 
nothing  in  the  way  of  vines  can  surpass  the  wistaria. 
It  is  a  hardy  climber,  doing  as  well  in  crowded  cities  as 
elsewhere,  and  is  apt  to  grow  to  a  comparatively  great 
age.  There  are  several  American  species,  but  the 
Chinese  purple  is  the  best  known,  although  there  are 
several  Japanese  varieties,  white,  purple,  and  large- 
clustered,  that  seem  to  be  nearly  as  good  as  any  on  the 
list.  The  wistaria  is  a  little  difficult  to  transplant  and 
establish,  but  in  a  year  or  two  it  generally  starts  off  to 
grow  in  the  most  vigorous  manner. 

We  must  not  forget  the  trumpet-creeper,  bignonia, 
which  clings  readily  to  rough  walls  and  surfaces,  and 


HARDY  VINES  AND  CLIMBERS          143 

makes  a  fine  effect  in  midsummer,  with  its  great  clusters 
of  scarlet  flowers  and  vigorous  foliage,  that  piles  up  in 
fine  fashion  over  rough  stone  structures,  boulders,  and 
old  stumps  of  trees. 

The  actinidia  polygama  is  another  Japanese  vine,  bear- 
ing large,  glossy  leaves,  and  piling  over  walls  and  rocks 
in  a  decidedly  rampant  manner. 

In  the  interest  of  decorative  purposes  we  must  not 
forget  the  Dutchman's  pipe,  aristolochia  sypho,  the 
large,  light-green  leaves  of  which  climb  up  the  wires  on 
a  porch,  and  lie  over  each  other  in  a  picturesque  way. 
It  grows  a  little  slowly  at  first,  but  eventually  reaches  a 
great  height,  when  properly  trained.  Dolichos  japonicus 
is  another  vine  that  bears  very  large  leaves,  and  reaches 
great  heights  with  much  rapidity. 

Of  the  English  ivy  it  would  be  well  to  say  one  word, 
not  because  any  words  are  necessary  at  this  late  day  to 
celebrate  its  rich  beauty  on  stone  work,  but  because, 
though  most  people  know  that  in  the  Middle  States  it 
will  not  succeed  on  the  south  side  of  a  house,  and  some- 
times gets  browned  by  winter  on  the  north,  its  great 
value  as  a  carpet  under  shrubs  should  be  better  recog- 
nized. In  reality,  the  English  ivy  is  a  hardy  plant,  ex- 
cept when  exposed  on  the  south  side  of  buildings,  and 
will  do  well  on  the  ground. 

But  after  admiring  all  these  vines,  we  turn  to  the 
climbing  roses  with  a  feeling  that  we  will  find  there  a 
quality  of  excellence  that  is  not  exactly  equalled  by  any 
other  climber.  One  of  these  roses  is  the  wild  setigera, 
parent  of  the  well-known  climber,  queen  of  the  prairies, 
and  for  vigor,  clean  healthy  foliage,  and  profusion  of 
single  pink  and  white-striped  flowers,  combined  with  all 
the  native  grace  of  the  family,  it  will  puzzle  the  con- 


144    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

noisseur  to  find  any  vine  that  will  surpass  it.  The  other 
rose  is  wichuriana,  from  Japan,  which  makes,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  thick,  carpet-like,  spreading  mass  of  small, 
dark-green  leaves,  and  seizes  quickly  on  the  surrounding 
ground,  studding  the  surface  of  its  foliage  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  small  white  and  yellow-stemmed  flowers. 
There  is  hardly  any  climber  that  will  so  successfully  and 
beautifully  cover  the  surface  of  an  outside  brick  chim- 
ney or  smooth  stone  wall  when  it  is  properly  trained, 
and  some  of  its  hybrids  promise  to  he  still  more  effective 


BEDDING  PLANTS. 

ALL  over  the  country,  alike  on  elaborate  lawns 
and  in  poor  men's  door-yards,  bedding  plants,  as 
represented  by  arrangements  of  coleuses  and 
geraniums,  are  evidently  popular  to  a  remarkable  degree. 
The  writer  desires  to  express  his  full  appreciation  of  their 
brilliant  attractions,  and  their  value  in  landscape  garden- 
ing schemes  when  they  are  properly  employed.  Nothing 
is  more  splendid  and  rich-looking,  and  thoroughly  de- 
corative, than  an  arrangement  of  cannas,  coleuses,  and 
alternantheras,  when  they  are  artistically  combined;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  no  plant  eifect  on  the  lawn  can  be 
made  more  crude,  garish,  and  vulgar  than  a  badly  de- 
signed and  located  arrangement  of  the  same  plants.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  the  more  brilliant  and  strik- 
ing a  plant  is,  the  more  difficult  it  is  to  use  it  in  such  a 
,  way  as  to  perform  a  harmonious  part  in  the  general 
i  scheme  of  arrangement  on  the  smallest  lawn;  in  truth, 
it  proves,  in  practice,  that  the  smaller  the  lawn,  the 
easier  it  is  to  create  an  unpleasant,  jarring  effect  with 
bedding  plants.  There  are,  of  course,  no  plants  that 
can  be  used  carelessly,  and  in  a  crude  and  improperly 
related  way,  without  due  consideration  for  the  other  pos- 
sibilities for  beauty  that  the  place  may  have,  but  so 
10 


146     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

preeminently  is  this  the  case  with  bedding  plants  that, 
unless  one  is  sure  of  the  value  of  his  scheme  of  arrang- 
ing them,  far  better  would  it  be  to  let  them  alone,  espe- 
cially in  view  of  the  fact  that  their  cost  is  relatively 
somewhat  expensive,  as  they  have  to  be  planted  over 
again  each  year. 

Bedding  plants  have,  it  is  evident,  a  definite  part  to 
perform  in  the  adornment  of  the  lawn  and  door-yard, 
but  their  proper  place  should  be  strictly  defined  and 
adhered  to,  and  that,  it  will  be  found,  should  be  to  act 
as  a  part  of  some  more  or  less  formal  arrangement,  such 
as  may  be  made  adjoining,  or  bordering,  a  building,  or 
in  a  terrace  or  courtyard,  or,  best  of  all,  in  a  formal 
flower-garden.  In  schemes  of  this  kind,  the  peculiar 
brilliancy  of  bedding  plants  can  be  more  readily  managed 
than  elsewhere.  If  such  a  scheme  grows  out  of  and 
definitely  relates  itself  to  the  architectural  scheme  of 
the  place,  it  is  generally  satisfactory,  and,  shut  off  in  a 
garden,  there  is,  of  course,  every  opportunity  for  special 
effects,  with  little  danger  of  injuring  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  lawn  by  showy  formality.  It  is  so  easy  to 
overload  any  spot  with  this  brilliant,  gorgeous  form  of 
plant  ornamentation,  that  great  self-restraint  is  gener- 
ally in  order  when  schemes  for  its  employment  are  under 
consideration. 

But  when  we  have  finally  secured  the  best  location  for 
our  scheme  of  bedding,  and  properly  defined  the  extent 
of  ground  it  is  to  occupy,  we  have  still  to  solve  the  diffi- 
cult problem  of  how  to  combine  the  different  parts  of 
each  special  scheme,  or  bed  of  color  and  foliage  plants. 
It  is  at  this  point  we  meet  the  most  flagrant  failures  in 
designs  of  this  kind.  The  fact  of  the  existence  of  gen- 
eral principles,  that  apply  alike  to  all  kinds  of  planting 


BEDDING  PLANTS  147 

effects,  seems  to  be  entirely  lost  sight  of.  That  there  are 
such  things  as  open  pieces  of  low  planting,  and  masses 
of  higher  planting,  clustered  around  single  points  of 
tallest  effect — in  a  word,  that  the  sky  line  must  be  consid- 
ered— is  generally  understood  when  applied  to  an  ordinary 
landscape;  but  how  few  think  of  applying  the  same 
principle  of  arrangement  to  a  small  cluster  of  even  a 
single  flower-bed  of  moderate  size.  And  yet  all  land- 
scape gardening,  to  be  good  art,  should  deal  with  princi- 
ples, and  the  principles  should  operate  in  every  phase  of 
the  work,  whether  it  be  in  a  symphony  of  grass,  herba- 
ceous plants,  shrubs  and  trees,  or  in  one  of  alternan- 
theras,  coleuses,  geraniums,  acalyphas,  cannas,  or  musas. 
Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  a  good  example.  It 
might  consist,  for  instance,  of  a  grass  bank  in  front  of 
a  house,  and  be  bounded  on  all  other  sides  by  walks,  or  a 
great  gravel  space.  Massed  back  against  the  house  would 
come  great  clusters  of  cannas,  like  small  trees,  and  these 
different  kinds  of  cannas  would  have  a  rounded  outline,  a 
sky  line  as  it  were,  that  would  be  simple  and  easy  and 
graceful,  and  at  the  same  time  points  and  clusters  of 
them  would  run  forward  among  broad  plantations  of 
geraniums,  with  their  sky  line  further  accentuated  by  the 
presence  of  higher  color,  and  growth  of  brilliant  red 
acalyphas,  the  leaves  of  which  are  smaller  than  the 
cannas  and  larger  than  the  geraniums.  Outside  of  the 
geraniums  would  come  irregular  borders  of  yellow 
f eatherf ews,  nasturtiums,  or  the  charming  alternantheras, 
which  grow  only  a  little  higher  than  the  shorn  grass  is 
allowed  to  get ;  and  out  two  or  three  feet  into  the  gen- 
eral expanse  of  the  turf  little  clusters  of  the  rich-looking 
acalyphas  would  be  allowed  to  wander,  in  order  to  pro- 
long the  effect  of  some  of  the  chords  of  color  that  give 


148    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

special  value  to  the  appearance  of  the  general  mass. 
Naturally,  it  would  depend  on  the  skill  of  the  designer, 
or  composer,  whether  such  a  combination  of  the  colors 
and  forms  of  bedding  plants  would  result  in  an  artistic 
symphony  or  not,  but  there  can  be  no  question  that 
the  possibilities  of  fine  effect  would  be  great,  far  more 
than  enough  to  tempt  one  to  undertake  a  careful  study 
of  the  existing  environment  and  materials. 

In  the  ordinary  flower-garden,  effects  like  these  are 
entirely  in  order;  indeed,  more  freedom  of  design  may 
be  displayed  here  than  in  most  places,  as  the  environ- 
ment  is  simpler,  and  less  complicated  by  surrounding 
scenery.  If  people  would  come  to  feel  that  badly  placed 
and  designed  foliage-beds  were  as  inartistic  and  as  bad 
in  their  way  as  bad  paintings,  we  would  soon  have  more 
bedding  effects  that  would  be  altogether  admirable. 

There  remains  only  a  few  words  to  be  said  concerning 
the  general  quality  of  materials  that  can  be  effectively 
and  satisfactorily  used  in  foliage  or  color  beds.  It 
seems  to  be  a  fact,  to  begin  with,  that  there  are  a  great 
many  plants  often  recommended  for  use  in  such  beds 
that  do  not,  and  cannot,  secure  the  brilliant  and  defined 
splendor  of  color  and  form  that  should  characterize  all 
designs  of  this  kind. 

The  writer  will  not  attempt  to  mention,  much  less  de- 
scribe, all  the  different  kinds  of  plants  that  are  suitable 
for  bedding,  but  rather  to  point  out  certain  qualities  of 
a  few  notable  species  that  mark  their  fitness  for  the 
purpose,  and  illustrate  the  special  range  of  quality  bed- 
ding materials  should  possess.  Probably  the  geranium 
is  the  most  popular  bedding  plant  in  this  country,  for  it 
has  a  picturesque  form,  finely  shaded  leaf,  and  brilliant- 
looking  flowers,  although  too  much  stress  should  not  be 


BEDDING  PLANTS  149 

laid  on  the  flowers  of  any  bedding  plant,  however  beauti- 
ful they  may  be,  because  the  leaf  effect  is  valuable  and 
satisfactory  throughout  the  season,  while  the  flowers 
fade  in  a  few  days,  not  to  return,  or  if  they  return  they 
bloom  in  a  scattering  or  intermittent  way.  It  would 
not  be  saying  too  much  to  declare  that  leaves  should  be 
the  first  and  most  important  consideration,  and  not  the 
flowers,  and,  above  all,  that  plants  exclusively  valuable 
for  their  flowers,  like  lilies,  should  not  be  mixed  through- 
out the  mass  of  any  bed,  to  the  obscuration  of  the 
clearly  defined  design,  for  while  there  may  be,  and  gen- 
erally should  be,  a  blending  of  colors  and  forms,  there 
should  not  be  confusion  of  eifect.  Clearly  defined  and 
striking  colors  and  forms,  should  be  sought  in  landscape 
gardening  on  the  smallest  and  most  formal  plan  of  bed- 
ding, for  bedding  belongs  in  the  foreground  of  the  pict- 
ure, and  therefore  rich  color  is  just  as  much  in  place 
here  as  the  green  foliage,  with  its  mysteries  of  eifect 
and  soft  blending,  is  in  sympathy  with  the  middle  dis- 
tance and  background  of  the  picture.  In  bedding,  we 
welcome  all  the  color  and  glow  we  can  get,  while  in  the 
tree  and  shrub  mass  we  deprecate  the  use  of  any  other 
color  than  green,  unless  it  be  used  with  unusual  self- 
restraint  and  skill. 

Nothing  more  perfect  of  its  kind  offers  itself  than, 
perhaps,  the  different  varieties  of  alternantheras,  which 
are  glowing  and  rich  with  color,  and  yet  have  a  grassy 
habit  that  fits  them  better  than  almost  any  other  plant 
to  take  the  place  of  grass  in  all  schemes  of  bedding. 
Next  to  this  grassy  effect,  we  have  the  yellow  feather- 
few,  and  the  nasturtium  of  charming  habit,  and  the 
begonia,  and  after  that,  taking  the  place  of  the  shrub  in 
the  ordinary  landscape  scheme,  comes  the  geranium, 


150    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

already  mentioned,  and  the  coleus,  most  gorgeous  and 
many-colored  of  plants.  Coleuses  and  geraniums  look 
well  adjoining  each  other,  while  in  the  same  relation 
may  come  bouvardias  and  salvias,  for  a  mingling  of 
some  green  color  in  the  brilliant  mass  is  often  agreeable, 
when  well  managed.  One  of  the  best  plants  for  brilliant 
effect  in  any  bedding  group  is  the  acalypha,  the  brilliant 
red  or  reddish-green  leaves  of  which  take  the  place  of 
some  specially  tall  shrub,  and  make  an  effective  key- 
point  of  color  in  the  general  mass. 

It  is,  as  already  intimated,  important  to  avoid  all  flat- 
ness or  monotony  of  sky-line,  if  this  unusual  though 
entirely  appropriate  use  of  the  word  may  be  permitted 
when  discussing  foliage-beds.  In  this  way  cannas  and 
banana  plants,  and  other  tall  and  large-leaved  species, 
perform  an  excellent  office  in  the  bed,  where  they  need 
not  necessarily  be  given  the  middle  or  single  point  of 
effect,  but  may  do  excellent  work  in  three  or  four  places, 
or  even  entirely  in  the  background,  as  when  a  bed  is 
made  along  the  side  of  a  building.  Like  the  shrub 
group,  there  need  be  no  formalism  or  monotony  in 
design,  but  these  tree-like  effects  of  cannas  and  musas, 
or  bananas,  may  be  arranged  on  a  clearly  defined  and 
well-studied  plan  that  will  produce  the  utmost  variety  of 
color  and  form  and  outline,  and  even  a  symmetry  of  its 
own  that  is  entirely  harmonious  and  fitted  to  the  ground 
and  environment,  and  yet  not  in  any  way  set  or  stiff. 


POOLS  AND  STREAMS 

THERE  is  something  so  delightful  in  the  living, 
moving  presence  of  water  in  landscape  that  it 
is  no  wonder  that  the  prospective  purchasers 
of  places  look  for  the  visible  existence  of  a  bit  of  sea 
or  lake,  or  even  a  pool  or  stream  of  water,  which  is 
either  actually  or  potentially  effective.  The  variety 
and  characteristic  charm  of  the  sea,  lake,  or  river  is  as 
valuable  and  genuine  a  possession,  when  you  have  it 
before  you,  as  the  sky,  and,  in  its  way,  just  as  beautiful 
and  precious;  but  when  it  comes  to  the  little  pool  or 
stream  that  you  will  have  on  your  land  if  you  buy  it,  or 
that  you  may  have  if  you  succeed  in  translating  poten- 
tialities into  realities,  the  problem  presents  the  usual 
considerable  difficulties.  There  is  nothing  so  deceptive, 
and  difficult  to  estimate  beforehand,  as  the  possibilities 
of  water  as  a  harmonious  and  typical  feature  of  a 
country  place,  because  water  is  such  an  elusive  feature. 
And  it  is  especially  so  when  the  area  of  its  display  is 
limited  within  the  -small  confines  of  an  ordinary  country 
place.  It  has  a  way  of  overflowing  its  banks,  of  drying 
up  in  a  day,  of  disappearing  in  the  earth  without  warn- 
ing, of  growing  muddy,  or  green  with  scum — of  doing 
eccentric,  unaccountable,  and  unavoidable  things  that 


152    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

will  be  the  despair  of  those  unfortunate  beings  who  may 
be,  or  may  feel  themselves  to  be,  responsible  for  them. 

If  you  must  have  water  on  your  place,  therefore — and 
why  should  you  not,  when  its  presence,  under  successful 
conditions,  gives  a  delight  and  solace  that  would  be  worth 
several  considerable  failures  sustained  in  the  effort  of 
obtaining  it? — it  is  always  wise  to  take  a  middle  and  con- 
servative course,  using  pools  and  streams  only  when  you 
can  discover  satisfactory  evidences  of  the  existence  of 
unfailing  sources  of  supply  from  living  springs,  or  from 
some  other  large  body  of  water  that  is  practically  inex- 
haustible. 

The  author  would  not  like  to  attempt  to  discourage 
the  would-be  contriver  of  water  effects  from  digging 
pools  and  streams  on  his  place,  and  striving  to  make  the 
most  charming  picturesque  and  perhaps  natural  effects. 
It  is  his  right,  if  he  is  a  person  possessed  of  a  vivid  im- 
agination and  sufficient  means,  to  seek  to  realize  what 
to  him  will  be  one  of  the  attractions  of  his  place ;  and 
there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  he  may  succeed  in 
constructing  a  bit  of  water  that  will  look  natural  and 
never  dry  up,  and  never  look  foul,  and,  above  all,  fit  in 
as  a  perfectly  satisfactory  element  of  the  landscape  pict- 
ure. The  use  of  the  word  "may,"  however,  is  done 
advisedly,  and  under  the  deep  sense  of  the  mutability  of 
human  effort  when  put  forth  to  accomplish  the  difficult 
task  of  introducing  pools  and  streams  of  water  artifi- 
cially as  a  pictorial  effect  on  home  grounds.  Rather 
would  the  author,  though  perhaps  he  is  too  timid,  prefer 
to  study  the  bits  of  water  he  already  has,  and  try,  if  he 
thinks  it  feasible,  to  develop  the  beauties  the  possibil- 
ities of  which  are  plainly  evident,  than  to  go  farther 
afield  and  lose  himself  in  the  bewildering  mazes  that 


POOLS  AND  STREAMS  153 

beset  the  path  of  the  imaginative  creator  of  sheets  of 
water,  all  fresh  and  made  in  accordance  with  the  latest 
ideas  upon  the  subject  of  constructing  artificial  pools  and 
streams. 

The  first  step  in  the  development  of  the  bodies  of 
water  we  have,  into  those  we  would  have  if  all  the  cir- 
cumstances favored  us,  is  the  preparation  of  the  shores 
of  the  water  by  deepening  them,  removing  all  mud  and 
debris,  and  preparing,  at  certain  points,  masses  of  good 
soil  for  the  reception  of  any  plants  we  may  set  out.  In 
reinforcing  these  shores,  it  is  well,  without  making  petty, 
small  curves,  to  vary  their  outlines  to  a  considerable 
degree,  by  deepening  what  would  correspond  with  bays 
on  a  larger  scale,  and  building  out  the  points,  which  are 
sometimes  improved  by  the  presence  of  a  rock,  and  in 
artificially  lifting  up  the  bank  with  soil,  while  the  hol- 
lows of  the  indentations  of  the  edges  may,  at  some 
wider  opening,  present  a  pebbly  or  sandy  beach. 

The  introduction  of  artificial  islands  in  a^  pond  or  lake 
is  apt  to  be  a  dangerous  experiment  that,  even  if  it  suc- 
ceeds in  assuming  shape  harmoniously,  and  in  no  petty  and 
undignified  manner,  will  be  somewhat  difficult  to  retain 
uninjured  under  the  stress  of  storms  and  the  action  of^ 
water ;  and  here,  again,  wefind  it  necessary  to  exeifeise 
restraint  in  the  use  of  rocffl,  unless  they  abound  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood,  or  unless  some  bank  needs 
artificial  support,  the  iMpessity  for  which  seldom,  indeed, 
arises.  The  proper  ^^atment  of  brooks  is  similiar  to 
that  which  is  suitable  for  pools,  the  deepening  and 
widening  at  certain  points  bearing  a  fixed  relation  to  the 
supply  of  water  and  the  general  normal  size  of  the 
stream. 

If  the  reader  will  imagine  a  hillside,  or  sloping  lawn, 


154    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

extending  down  to  a  small  lake   or  pond  or  runnin 
stream,  we  can  try  to  see  what  ideas  will  suggest  them 
selves  as  to  different  ways  of  treating  the  water.     In  th 
first  place,  it  should  be  established  that  it  is  not  well  t< 
attempt  to  make  artificial  pools  and  streams  of  water 
It  can,  of  course,  be  done,  but  it  is  generally  difficult 
on  account  of  an  imperfect  supply  of  water,  or  else  G] 
a  lack  of  fitness  of  the  conformation  of  the  ground  foi 
the  water  effect  that  it  is  possible  to  obtain.      Flooded 
territories  are  not  apt  to  be  satisfactory  in  appearance. 
The  conditions  do  not  seem  to  be  normal,  the  landscape 
not  quite  natural-looking. 

The  treatment  of  the  natural  stream  or  pool  is  a 
simple  one  in  itself,  and  it  is  hardly  possible  to  do  any- 
thing but  widen  or  narrow  it,  so  as  to  create  some  spe- 
cially fitting  effect,  or  to  plant  it  to  a  limited  extent 
with  water-lilies  and  aquatics,  always  being  careful  to 
arrange  for  large  spaces  of  open  water.  There  are  also 
agreeable  relations  to  be  established  with  territory  ad- 
joining the  water,  and  these  afford  much  opportunity  for 
study. 

The  site  of  the  house  should  be  so  placed,  whenever 
possible,  as  to  get  the  best  views  or  glimpses  of  the 
pools  or  streams,  and  the  walks  should  also  be  laid  out 
so  as  to  gracefully  and  naturally  pass  out  and  in  the 
masses  of  shrubbery  or  groves  of  trees,  so  that  from 
the  house  beautiful  vistas  ending  in  water  landscape 
should  greet  the  eye.  When  the  water  can  be  secured 
as  an  important  or  dominant  feature  of  the  landscape, 
the  arrangement  of  even  the  smallest  pools  can  be  so  con- 
trived as  to  enhance  the  charm  of  the  water  element  in 
the  general  scheme.  Though  the  place  be  so  narrow 
that  it  is  only  possible  to  carry  a  straight  walk  from  the 


MAIN    STREET. 


FRONT. 


VILLAGE  LOT,   ONE-HALF  AN   ACRE,  LOCATED 
ON  STREAM 


SECTION   OF  SAME 


POOLS  AND  STREAMS  157 

house  to  the  water's  edge,  yet  either  boundary  of  the 
place  may  be  shut  in  with  a  solid  mass  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  in  front  of  them  could  come,  with  excellent 
effect,  a  garden  of  herbaceous  plants,  blooming  through- 
out the  different  seasons  of  the  year,  making  the  plants 
more  or  less  suited  to  the  low  ground  gradually  predom- 
inate as  the  shore  is  approached.  Near  the  shore,  the 


SUMMER-HOUSE   ON   WATER 

straight  path  could  be  forked  out,  enclosing  a  pool,  or 
miniature  landlocked  bay,  which  might  be  scooped  out 
from  the  stream,  and  dotted  with  pond-lilies.  On  either 
side  should  be  natural  shore,  for  it  is  a  pity  to  use  arti- 
ficial-looking cut  stone  on  the  shores  of  any  stream ;  the 
water  is  so  much  more  attractive  lapping  up  on  a 
pebble  or  sandy  beach,  or  even  a  border  of  grasses  and 
rushes. 
Excellent  effects  may  be  produced  by  making  a  little 


158    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

eminence  of  earth,  if  it  does  not  already  exist,  on  one 
side  of  the  lot,  and  erecting  thereon  some  rustic  summer- 
house,  or  vine-covered  pergola,  commanding  a  view  over 
even  a  small  reach  of  stream  or  lake.  Down  by  the 
other  corner  of  the  lot  may  stand  a  little  unobtrusive 
boat  or  bath-house,  also  vine-covered.  (See  illustration 
on  page  155).  None  of  these  buildings  need  be  made 
obtrusive-looking,  but,  in  every  case,  special  consider- 
ation could  be  given  to  varying  and  renewing,  in  some 
other  form,  the  aesthetic  value  of  the^water  in  the  land- 
scape, just  as  we  found  an  agreeable  effect  by  a  little 
pool  at  the  foot  of  the  land,  the  sight  of  which  seemed 
to  carry  the  eye  with  more  pleasant  feelings  of  expecta- 
tion to  the  larger  spaces  of  water  beyond.  All  sorts  of 
variations  of  the  line  of  the  shore  and  the  height  of  the 
contour  of  its  immediate  borders  may  be  effectively  de- 
vised, and  by  means  of  rushes,  cat-tails,  pond-lilies,  and 
other  aquatic  plants,  an  effective  and  beautifully  pictur- 
esque foreground  be  given  to  the  water  itself.  The  im- 
agination may  revel  in  many  plans  for  such  water  effects 
in  connection  with  the  home,  but  in  undertaking  to  carry 
them  into  actual  effect,  one  will  find  it  always  needful 
to  remember  that  the  house  must  be  considered  with 
relation  to  open  space  in  front,  or  back,  or  around  it, 
and  that  the  shape  of  the  ground,  and  any  natural  charm 
it  may  have  originally  possessed,  should  not  be  forgotten 
in  the  desire  to  accomplish  some  radical  scheme  of  im- 
provement. 


WOODLANDS 

THOUGHTS  of  grateful  shade,  and  flickering  bars 
of  sunlight  falling  across  the  varied  and 
dainty  leafage  of  woodlands,  have  always  filled 
the  soul  with  delight.  The  more  natural  the  forest 
glade,  the  pleasanter  becomes  a  stroll  through  its  leafy 
aisles,  and  the  masses  of  its  trees  and  shrubs  and  vines 
have  a  wonderful  power  of  refreshment  and  restfulness. 
It  may  be  hard  to  believe,  but  it  is  a  fact  nevertheless, 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  create  by  human  skill  a 
perfect  imitation  of  a  natural  forest  glade,  for  there  are 
thousands  of  little  touches  of  genuine  wild  beauty  that 
no  horticulturist  will  be  able  to  produce,  and  it  seems  to 
be  essential  to  the  highest  enjoyment  of  genuine  wood- 
land effects  for  every  tree  and  shrub  to  have  grown 
spontaneously,  and  to  have  been  left  by  itself.  This 
principle  of  leaving  well  alone  in  the  smallest  wood  lot  of 
actual  village  home  grounds  should,  therefore,  guide  us  in 
all  our  dealings  with  large  or  small  tracts  of  woodland, 
for  any  extra  planting  or  pruning,  beyond  cutting  out 
dead  limbs,  or  an  occasional  tree  that  is  growing  too 
close  to  its  neighbor,  is  sure  to  impair  the  special  charm 
of  such  places,  which  seems  so  easy  to  obtain  and  is  so 
difficult  to  hold  uninjured. 


160    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

Every  care  should  be  taken  of  the  trees  by  destroying 
insects,  and  renewing  the  top  soil  that  has  been  washed 
away  from  the  roots,  but  it  is,  as  already  stated,  useless 
to  attempt  to  plant  fresh  trees  and  shrubs ;  firstly,  be- 
cause they  would  not  properly  thrive  in  the  shade  and 
among  the  tangled  roots;  and,  secondly,  because  the 
natural  effect  of  the  scene  would  be  destroyed  at  once. 

In  the  same  way,  wild  flowers,  or  what  are  termed  by 
the  horticulturist  hardy  herbaceous  plants,  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  look  exactly  happy,  even  when  they  are  skillfully 
planted  inside  of  masses  of  woodland,  with  the  idea  of 
making  them  look  natural.  A  little  of  this  natural  effect 
may  be  accomplished  by  clustering  small  colonies  of 
particularly  wild-looking  flowers,  like  asters  and  daisies, 
on  the  extreme  borders  of  woodland,  where  the  sunlight 
can  reach  them,  for  it  is  an  axiom,  scarcely  needing 
repetition,  that  no  plant  (there  are  a  few  striking  excep- 
tions) does  as  well  in  the  shade  as  in  the  sunlight. 
When  you  find  flowers  blooming  in  the  shade  of  forest 
glades,  you  will  also  find  that  it  is  very  much  a  case  of 
the  survival  of  the  fittest,  under  difficult  conditions, 
wherein  many  die  in  order  that  a  few  may  live. 

On  the  other  hand,  although  woods  should  remain  nat- 
ural, they  need  not  look  untidy  or  forlorn,  or  as  if  they 
were  lapsing  into  decay,  yet  neither  should  they  look  as 
if  they  had  been  swept  and  garnished.  The  removal  of 
a  dead  stump  or  a  fallen  limb,  or  any  positive  rubbish, 
is,  of  course,  always  in  order,  but  to  rake  up  leaves  in 
actual  woodland  indicates  ignorance  and  lack  of  regard 
for  the  trees  when  attempt  is  made  to  deprive  them  of 
the  protective  and  mulching  value  of  the  fallen  leaves ; 
and,  moreover,  no  other  possible  carpet,  whether  of 
grass  or  bare  earth,  can  equal  the  pleasing  effect  of  the 


WOODLANDS  161 

coloring  of  the  brown  leaves  as  an  accompaniment  of  the 
lights  and  shadows  of  the  forest. 

There  are,  however,  many  other  ways  by  which  the 
health  of  woodlands  can  be  improved  from  year  to  year, 
for  around  the  roots  of  trees  in  bare,  unfertile  places, 
from  which  the  leaves  have  blown,  good  soil,  mixed  with 
manure,  may  be  applied  several  inches  thick  with  advan- 
tage. 

Then  the  streams  that  flow,  at  times,  through  bits  of 
forest  can  be  cleaned  out,  and  retained  in  their  own 
channels,  thus  relieving  the  trees  from  damp,  and  malefi- 
cent influences. 

So  far,  we  have  considered  only  things  such  as  will 
make  for  the  beauty  and  health  of  the  woodlands ;  but 
when  we  come  to  foot-paths,  we  shall  encounter  features 
that,  though  necessary,  can  offer  no  reason  for  existing 
except  their  necessity,  and  should,  therefore,  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  woodlands,  be  limited  to  wandering  trails, 
just  wide  enough  for  two  to  walk  abreast,  and  reaching 
around  large  portions  of  the  territory  without  crisscross- 
ing them  with  a  network  of  foot- ways. 

Cultivation,  in  the  form  of  digging  and,  plowing, 
seems  always  to  be  out  of  place  in  woodlands,  because  it 
tends  to  disturb  the  mulching  and  enriching  process  that 
is  being  fostered  by  the  shade  and  by  the  fall  of  leaves ; 
and  so,  likewise,  the  paths  or  trails  should  have  little 
trimming,  only  just  a  rough  levelling  to  prevent  water 
from  settling  in  pools,  and  there  may  be  added,  with  ad^ 
vantage,  an  inch  or  two  of  sand  or  gravel,  to  kill  weeds 
and  render  footing  more  dry  and  agreeable. 

It  is  mischievous  negligence  that  allows  cattle  to 
wander  in  the  borders  of  woods,  destroying  the  lower 
foliage  of  the  trees,  and  with  it  that  beautiful  effect  of 
11 


162    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

the  tree  growth  when  it  is  encouraged  to  droop  down  to 
meet  the  low  shrubs  and  long  grass  of  the  meadow.  It 
is  on  the  edges  of  these  woodlands  bordering  on  mead- 
ows that  one  finds  the  most  charming  parklike  effects, 
the  true  ideal  type  of  pastoral  designs,  where  Nature  has 
been  just  enough  influenced  by  the  hand  of  man  to  give 
her  the  human  interest  that  should  be  associated  with  all 
attempts  of  the  landscape  gardener.  A  bit  of  an  old 
fence,  a  log,  a  ditch,  gives  a  living  sentiment  to  the  pict- 
ure, of  which  one  feels  the  need  in  any  park  or  home 
grounds.  Pure,  unadulterated  Nature  is  all  very  well 
for  mere  sentiment,  but  an  old  lane,  with  its  cows  and 
sheep-dog,  and  hedgerow  of  dogwood,  pepperidge,  and 
liquid  amber,  and  wild  clematis,  clematis  virginica,  will 
satisfy  the  spirit  more  days  in  the  year  than  any  Rocky 
Mountain  glade,  if  we  could  reach  it,  where  the  foot  of 
white  man  has  never  trod. 

In  order  to  explain  better  the  bearing  of  these  remarks, 
the  writer  desires  to  call  attention  to  the  attempts  that 
are  often  made  to  imitate  Nature  by  planting  thick, 
tangled  masses  of  native  plants,  so  that,  every  way  one 
looks,  one  is  attracted  by  broad  stretches  of  trees  and 
shrubs  that  for  a  moment  seem  to  have  sprung  up  spon- 
taneously where  they  grow.  We  gaze  at  these  tangled 
masses  of  trees  and  vines,  and  are,  for  a  moment,  de- 
lighted at  what  we  believe  to  be  veritable  Nature ;  but 
unfortunately,  we  are  always  bound,  sooner  or  later,  to 
be  undeceived,  and  then,  under  the  influence  of  the  dis- 
appointment of  deceit,  we  begin  to  look  about  us,  and 
then  to  find  that  it  is,  after  all,  but  a  bit  of  theatri- 
cal effect  imposed  on  the  general  landscape,  with  which 
it  does  not  in  reality  harmonize,  and  with  which  no 
human  hand  can  make  it  harmonize,  because  the  remain- 


WOODLANDS  163 

-^X 

der  of  the  scene  cannot  be  all  wild.  Moreover,  though 
we  exercise  the  deepest  cunning  of  the  art,  and  main- 
tain it  with  the  greatest  care,  the  marks  of  the  culti- 
vator on  the  attempted  wild  plantation  will  be  soon 
seen  and  noted,  and  not  always  felt  to  be  satisfactory 
by  common,  sensible  folks. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  the  writer  deprecates  all 
interference  with  masses  of,  woodlands,  except  to  foster 
them  and  keep  them  growing  in  the  most  satisfactory 
way,  and  to  leave  them  absolutely  untouched  by  horticul- 
tural skill  except  that  which  undertakes  to  remove  ex- 
crescences, superfluous  branches,  dead  wood,  and  clog- 
ging pools  of  water,  and  to  allow  not  even  maples  and 
chestnuts  to  be  planted  along  edges  of  woods,  for  fear 
they  will  injure  the  native  woodland  effect,  which  it  is  so 
easy  to  lose  and  so  hard  to  restore.  Setting  aside  all 
mere  sentiment,  and  looking  at  the  subject  of  imitating 
woodland  effects  in  the  sensible  way  which  is  always,  as 
we  have  before  said,  the  most  artistic  way,  we  will  feel, 
as  we  look  out  on  a  well-designed  park  or  home-ground 
treatment,  that  it  is  good  to  see  great  groves  of  trees 
intermingled  with  shrubs,  and  vines  that  cluster  over 
walls  and  fences,  and  are  arranged  and  cultivated  so 
that  they  will  grow  and  thrive'  for  a  number  of  years 
with  little  pruning,  transplanting,  or  other  change.  They 
can  be  managed  so  as  to  make  us  think  of  the  most 
charming  effects  of  woodland  and  meadow,  and  yet  not 
for  a  moment  deceive  us,  but  make  us,  instead,  ex- 
claim how  well  the  grouping  is  contrived  for  the  open 
meadows  and  lawns  and  long  vistas  of  the  place,  and  at 
the  same  time  for  the  individual  exhibition  of  the  native 
charms  of  the  trees  and  shrubs.  The  buildings,  fences, 
and  other  structures  necessary  for  human  comfort  and 


164    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

convenience  will  then  preserve  an  agreeable  relation  to 
the  plantations,  and  not  jar  on  our  sensibilities,  as  they 
must  in  the  midst  of  the  most  perfect  attempt  at  an 
imitation  of  Nature.  In  this  way  woodlands,  untouched 
except  for  actual  maintenance,  fall  into  their  proper 
place  as  one,  and  only  one,  of  the  most  desirable  features 
of  home  grounds  or  parks,  and  need  not  be  insulted  by 
futile  attempts  to  imitate,  and  even  improve,  their 
charms,  by  planting  other  trees  in  their  midst,  after  the 
method  of  certain  horticulturists  who  fail  to  comprehend 
their  proper  function.  To  show  how  these  woodlands 
should  be  allowed  to  furnish  us  with  types  and  sugges- 
tions, rather  than  to  be  interfered  with  by  so-called 
improvement,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  very  oaks, 
maples,  chestnuts,  tulips,  lindens,  and  ashes  that  consti- 
tute these  woodlands,  and  with  which  we  should  find  it 
so  difficult  to  create  a  genuine  bit  of  woodland,  are 
found  of  inestimable  value  in  making  park  pastoral 
effects  of  masses  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and  single,  slightly 
detached  specimens. 

It  is  again  evident  that,  in  designing  the  arrangement 
of  home  grounds  and  parks,  our  first  duty  is  to  frankly 
preserve,  without  attempting  to  imitate  them,  the  exist- 
ing beauties  of  the  placer-woodlands,  single  trees,  rocks, 
knolls,  and  meadows — and  to  only  add  such  arrangements 
of  trees  and  shrubs  and  flowers  as  will  enhance  and 
perfect  the  special  charms  that  are  native  to  the  place, 
and  at  the  same  time  not  interfere  with  the  comfort  and 
convenience  of  the  people  who  live  there. 


THE  USE  OF  ROCKS 

THE  charm  of  rocks  in  a  landscape  is  so  evidently 
valuable  that  there  is  a  natural  desire  to  use 
them  in  lawns  and  gardens.  But  experience 
teaches  us  that  their  use  is  fraught  with  much  difficulty ; 
and  for  the  very  reason  that  rocks  are  such  positive- 
looking  objects,  they  should  be  grouped  and  massed  with 
the  utmost  taste  and  discretion,  otherwise  the  result 
is  sure  to  mar  the  landscape,  and  in  so  disagreeable  a 
way  as  could  not  seem  possible  at  first  sight.  And  here, 
as  elsewhere,  we  find  again  that  existing  facts  and  con- 
ditions must  be  allowed  to  inspire  us.  Surrounding  ter- 
ritory may  not  show  the  slightest  suggestion  of  out- 
cropping rock  or  loose  boulders,  and  in  such  cases  we 
need  surely  feel  no  desire  to  introduce  a  foreign  element 
in  the  scene  which  can  hardly  fail  to  make  it  discordant. 
One  rock  in  the  wrong  place,  looking  as  if  it  had  fallen 
unawares  out  of  a  cart,  is  totally  out  of  place,  while  a 
number  of  rocks,  spotted  about  in  quite  promiscuous 
fashion  at  the  base  of  a  slope  abounding  in  large  and 
small  masses  of  stone,  will  often  help  the  beauty  of  the 
landscape,  especially  if  a  footpath  is  present  that  ap- 
pears to  be  here  and  there  deflected  by  the  presence  of 
the  rock. 


166  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

In  the  case  of  rocks  in  landscape,  it  is  very  much  the 
same  way  as  with  the  man  of  ten  talents  in  scripture. 
To  the  territory  abounding  with  boulders  and  out-crop- 
ping stone,  more  will  be  brought,  and  in  the  region 
where  there  is  a  dearth  of  stone,  even  those  that  happen 
to  be  there  will  be  removed.  Thus,  for  example,  take 
a  trench,  or  stony  ditch,  through  which  a  natural  stream 
runs,  and  you  wish  to  make  it  more  picturesque,  and 
enhance  its  possibilities  as  a  characteristic  and  beautiful 
feature :  even  if  it  be  cut  through  solid  rock  you  may 
add  still  other  rocks  and  boulders,  and,  setting  them 
here  and  there,  secure  the  finest  effect  possible. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  cut  happens  to  go  through 
clear,  solid  earth,  with  hardly  a  stone,  you  will  be  very 
careful  to  remove  any  accidental-looking  stone  that  may 
be  seen.  The  writer  does  not  attempt  to  lay  down 
absolute  directions,  covering  any  and  all  cases — that  is 
impossible — but  he  merely  indicates  the  way  in  which  the 
trained  mind  would,  in  such  matters,  set  to  work. 

In  the  same  spirit  he  wishes  to  emphasize  the  fact 
that  the  use  of  rocks  should  always  be  taken  up  with  the 
utmost  deliberation,  because  the  misplacement  of  such 
objects  as  rocks  is  much  more  serious  than  the  improper 
location  of  plants.  The  plants  have,  as  a  rule,  a  beauty 
of  their  own,  irrespective  of  position,  which  is  much 
greater  than  that  of  individual  rocks,  and,  besides, 
plants  have  a  certain  indeterminateness  of  outline  that  is 
always  less  offensive  under  adverse  circumstances  than 
the  rigid  and  sharply  outlined  masses  of  rocks. 

What  the  writer  especially  wishes  to  explain  is,  that 
rock-work  should  have  a  definite  fundamental  scheme, 
springing  naturally  from  the  shape  of  the  ground  and 
nature  of  its  rocky  contents,  and  that  the  carrying  out 


THE  USE  OF  ROCKS 


167 


TREATMENT  OF  ROCKS  FOR  STREAM  AND  BRIDGE 

of  this  scheme  had  best  be  done  in  a  large  and  bold 
fashion.  If,  for  example,  a  wall  of  natural-looking  rock 
is  to  be  made,  why  not  let  it  be  ten  feet  high,  instead  of 
three  feet,  and  extend  it  for  many  yards,  instead  of  a 


168     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

few  feet?  Steep  land  and  a  few  rocks  will  always  make 
one  think  of  the  reasonableness  of  a  seemingly  small 
rocky  cliff  being  naturally  fashioned  at  this  point.  This 
shows  one  of  the  ways  in  which  a  new  landscape  can 
be  actually  constructed;  the  landscape  architect  then 
assumes  his  true  function,  undertaking  always  to  work 
on  Nature's  lines  and  suggestions,  and  never  in  direc- 
tions uninspired  by  the  existing  conditions. 

The  same  principles  may  be  seen  applied  in  the  rocks 
disposed  along  a  stream.  If  rocks^  abound,  the  land- 
scape architect  will  throw  out  promontories,  picturesque 
masses  and  rough  bridges,  but,  if  true  to  his  art,  he  will 
not  undertake  to  set  up  cut-stone  copings,  and  long, 
straight  lines,  or  mathematical  curves.  It  is  so  easy  to 
say  just  what  should  not  be  done,  but  the  true  course  is 
that  which  seeks  to  do  things  right,  and  forgets  to  dwell 
on  wrong  things.  It  is  the  same  sensible  way  of  doing- 
right  things  that  leads  one  to  use  plain,  solid  steps  of 
granite  or  bluestone,  and  as  few  of  them  as  possible, 
instead  of  searching  far  and  wide  for  some  more  rustic 
or  shaly  pieces.  These  steps  should  be  broad  and  low, 
and  not  highly  axed  and  smoothed,  and  the  borders 
should  be,  in  most  cases,  improved  with  low,  narrow, 
inconspicuous  copings  or  curbings,  and  bordering  turf 
masses,  well  rounded  up. 

So,  also,  should  the  rocks  be  selected,  being  taken  from 
the  nearest  quarry  or  stone-heap,  without  much  regard 
to  their  shape  or  size,  except  that  they  should  not  gen- 
erally be  less  than  two  feet  the  narrow  way,  with  as 
shallow  a  depth  as  possible,  so  that  they  will  bed  down 
in  the  ground  in  what  looks  to  be  a  firm  and  settled 
manner.  Although  it  does  not  really  make  much  differ- 
ence whether  the  upper  surface  of  the  rock  be  weather- 


THE  USE  OF  ROCKS 


169 


worn  and  moss-grown,  these  qualities  are  good  to  have, 
and  yet  good  rock- work  can  be  made  without  them. 
There  is  a  faculty  whereby  experience  enables  one  to 
select  a  very  common-looking  stone,  and  make  it  do  ex- 
cellent work  in  the  landscape.  Indeed,  it  is,  perhaps, 
easier  to  select  a  suitable  stone  than  it  is  to  place  it 
properly  after  you  have  selected  it.  When  one  feels, 
as  it  were,  the  folds  and  shape  of  the  land  and  the  way 


BRIDGE  OF   BOULDERS 


the  rock  disposes  itself  in  the  neighborhood,  it  becomes 
possible  to  set  stones  at  right  angles  with  the  land,  to 
tilt  them  up,  or  to  bed  them  lightly  or  deeply,  as  occa- 
sion requires,  and  to  generally  group  and  mass  them, 
and  combine  them  with  grass  and  vines  and  shrubs 
and  trees,  until  a  consistent  picture  is  presented 
wherein  the  forced  note  and  unnatural  quality  have  ab- 
solutely disappeared.  This  may  be  done  by  means  of 
one  great  rock,  or  boulder,  set  at  the  base  of  a  slope, 


170    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

or  by  means  of  hundreds  of  medium-sized  fragments  of 
stone,  clothing  a  hillside,  where  the  presence  of  a  barren, 
rock-strewn  region  suggests  itself.  It  is  to  be  noted 
that  rocks  among  ferns  may  be  made  effective  in  wood- 
land or  in  some  low,  moist  dell  only. 


BRIDGE  OF  BOULDERS,  WITH  ROCK  TREATMENT  OF   STREAM,  IN  CENTRAL 
PARK,   NEW  YORK 

Again,  it  is  a  good  idea  to  remember  that  we  can  con- 
struct rightly  and  effectively,  in  the  boldest  way,  bridges 
and  footways  of  rock,  always  provided  we  do  it  sensibly, 
in  regions  where  rocks  crop  out  and  footways  are  needed. 

A  specially  happy  effect  of  this  kind  has  been  con- 


THE  USE  OF  ROCKS 


171 


trived  in  the  upper  part  of  Central  Park,  New  York 
City,  where  a  lot  of  great  boulders,  weighing  tons  each, 
have  been  brought  together  so  as  to  make  a  solid  arch, 
under  which  a  stream  of  water,  with  heavy  rocks  strewn 
on  its  edge,  passes.  The  region  is  a  deep  gorge  with  high, 
rocky,  wooded  slopes,  and  a  carriage-road  that  passes 
over  the  arch  gives  a  sufficiently  good  reason  for  its  con- 
struction. The  result  is  beautiful  and  natural,  although 
unexpectedly  picturesque. 


,)V\\  T« 
ROUGH   STONE  WALL  AND  COPING 


If  water  can  be  brought  directly  against  a  sheer  mass 
of  rock  five  or  ten  feet  high,  the  effect  of  rock  and 
water  is  generally  fine.  In  the  same  way,  artificial  con- 
structions of  dry  walls  of  rocks,  used  as  dividing  bar- 
riers between  different  parts  of  the  property,  can  be 
employed  in  connection  with  vines  and  shrubs  in  an  en- 
tirely satisfactory  way.  But  cemented  stone-work,  em- 
ployed in  formal  lines,  should  properly  be  restricted  to 
buildings  or  terraces.  It  is  a  mistake  to  underrate  the 
difficulty  of  doing  good  landscape  work  with  rocks,  and 
though  probably  few  people  realize  it,  it  is  a  fact,  never- 


172    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

theless,  that  it  is  always  much  better  to  altogether  avoid 
employing  rocks,  unless  we  are  willing  to  spend  much 
time  and  study  on  their  disposition,  and  are  sure  that 
we  can  accomplish,  in  the  end,  something  really  good, 


TREATMENT  OP  STEPS   WITH   ROCKS,   CENTRAL  PARK,   NEW  YORK 

because  it  is  seldom  that  the  surroundings  are  such  that 
a  reasonably  satisfactory  landscape  cannot  be  devised 
without  the  use  of  rocks.  Plants,  herbaceous  plants, 
vines,  shrubs,  trees,  and  grass  we  must  have,  with  paths 
and  roads,  but  the  rocks  can  generally  be  left  out  with- 


THE  USE  OF  ROCKS  173 

out  serious  loss,  and  their  absence  is  better  than  their 
presence  if  their  deportment  in  the  landscape  is  not  all 
that  it  should  be. 

There  is  also  a  purely  conservative  side  to  rock-work 
that  deserves  the  most  careful  attention  in  laying  out 
and  constructing  a  country  place  of  the  smallest  dimen- 
sions (and  the  smaller  it  is,  the  more  important),  and 
that  is,  the  preservation,  religiously,  of  rock  masses  in 
their  natural  moss-grown  and  water- worn  state. 

Every  well-placed,  interesting  stone  in  a  place  has  a 
distinct  value  in  the  landscape  effect  of  the  region  that 
is  difficult  to  overestimate  in  actual  money.  It  was  the 
realization  of  this  fact  that  made  a  gentleman,  known  to 
the  writer,  say  that  he  would  not  have  sacrificed  a  cer- 
tain great,  moss-grown  boulder,  ten  feet  in  diameter, 
standing  on  the  edge  of  a  spring,  for  the  sum  of  a  thou- 
sand dollars,  if  a  thousand  dollars  would  have  saved  it 
from  the  sacrilegious  hand  and  dynamite  of  the  cellar- 
builder. 


RESIDENTIAL  PARKS 

THE  arrangement  of  lots  on  a  territory  that  is 
intended  to  be  divided  for  residential  purposes 
amounts,  in  the  minds  of  many,  to  merely  mak- 
ing lots  of  three-quarters  or  half  an  acre,  or  less,  as  the 
demand  may  require,  by  running  parallel  lines,  crossing 
them  at  right  angles ;  the  parallelograms,  with  a  view  to 
tempting  purchasers  of  small  means,  being  sometimes 
reduced  to  the  normal  city  lot,  size  25  x  100  feet,  the 
roads  being  worked  in  between  the  lots  in  the  same 
straightforward,  simple  fashion.  This  method  of  laying 
out  villa  sites  and  residential  parks  has  the  advantage  of 
economy  and  simplicity,  and  the  territory  certainly 
divides  up  into  small  parcels  conveniently ;  but  how  about 
such  a  simple  arrangement  from  an  aesthetic  point  of 
view,  when  the  ground  is  rolling,  or  even  mildly  precip- 
itous? Is  it  not  to  a  proper  plan  what  the  row-of-boxes- 
pierced-with-holes  style  of  building  is  to  true  architect- 
ure? 

There  are  such  things  as  steep  grades  that  need  to 
be  overcome,  and  that,  consequently,  force  roads  into 
curious  and  perplexing  curves.  The  location  of  the 
houses  in  each  lot  is,  moreover,  a  matter  that  requires 
skill  and  special  knowledge ;  in  other  words,  experience 


RESIDENTIAL  PARKS  175 

and  study  are  necessary  for  the  best  results.  The  drain- 
age problem  is  rarely  a  simple  one,  and  the  character  of 
the  road  best  suited  to  the  territory  is  a  matter  that 
also  requires  due  consideration  and  study. 

To  sum  up,  if  the  reader  wishes  to  divide  up  his 
property  into  building  lots,  on  account  of  a  demand  for 
moderate-sized  homes  that  has  sprung  up  in  his  neigh- 
borhood, he  needs  to  think  of  a  great  many  things  that 
will  be  required  for  the  proper  development  of  both  the 
inherent  and  undiscovered  beauty  and  the  usefulness  of 
his  property  for  the  purpose  to  which  he  intends  to  con- 
vert it. 

Perhaps  as  satisfactory  a  method  of  discussing  this 
subject,  which  is  evidently  a  more  fruitful  one  than  it 
would  appear  to  be  at  first  sight,  is  the  consideration  of 
an  actual  example  we  have  before  us,  on  page  180,  where 
nearly  all  the  problems  that  would  have  to  be  faced  on 
any  place  of  the  kind  seem  to  confront  us  in  one  form 
or  another.  The  property  in  question  is  a  bit  of  hilly 
country,  in  an  inland  town  in  the  South,  and  is  pictur- 
esque and  charming  to  a  high  degree,  being  clothed  in 
part  by  a  beautiful  variety  of  forest  trees — oaks,  chest- 
nuts, etc. — and,  at  the  same  time,  looking  out  from  its 
more  open  portions  over  a  lovely  mountain  landscape. 
People  come  to  the  region  both  winter  and  summer  for 
the  enjoyment  of  the  climate  and  the  beautiful  natural 
scenery,  and  although  there  are  several  large,  luxurious 
hotels  and  country  estates,  there  is  a  great  want  felt  for 
houses  and  grounds  of  moderate  dimensions  and  expense. 

With  a  view  of  supplying  this  demand,  the  owner  of 
the  property  we  are  considering  has  undertaken  to  divide 
its  thirty-five  acres  into  lots  of  an  acre  or  two,  and  to 
lay  out  convenient  roads  that  will  reach  all  parts  of  the 


176    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

grounds,  and  that  will  be  specially  adapted  to  securing 
the  best  outlooks  and  vantage  points  for  the  scenery. 
Lots  of  medium  size,  from  one-half  an  acre  to  an  acre, 
had  to  be  secured,  and  the  best  places  for  houses  on 
them  suggested.  The  problem  was  a  knotty  one,  and 
one  that  depended  largely  for  its  difficulty  on  the  irreg- 
ularity and  picturesqueness  of  the  contours.  The  place 
had  fine  views,  and  not  much  else  that  fitted  it  for  a 
residence  park.  If  the  owner  had  fully  realized  in  the 
beginning  all  he  would  have  to  contend  with,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  he  would  have  deliberately  faced  the  difficul- 
ties. It  would  have  been  so  much  easier  to  select  a 
level  or  rolling  piece  of  ground,  where  the  grades  would 
have  been  reasonably  easy,  and  the  course  of  the  roads 
and  the  shape  of  the  lots  so  much  more  readily  adapted 
to  the  ends  of  design.  It  would  have  been  altogether 
so  much  more  satisfactory  and  sensible.  But  then  undue 
consideration  of  beautiful  objects  will  always  tend  to 
lead  us  away  from  the  paths  of  wisdom,  and  the  residen- 
tial park-maker  did  really  love  those  mountain  views ;  and 
then  it  must  be  remembered  that  gently  rolling  meadows 
and  level  plains  did  not  abound  in  front  of  those  moun- 
tains. Let  us  look  at  the  conditions  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  face.  Here  was  a  piece  of  ground  (look  at  the 
section  on  page  182,  and  it  will  be  evident)  where  the 
grade  from  the  lowest  point  to  the  highest  is  over  twenty 
per  cent.,  or  a  rise  of  one  foot  for  every  five  feet  of  lon- 
gitudinal extent.  In  other  words,  one  end  of  a  forty- 
acre  plot  is  300  feet  higher  than  the  other;  and  to 
make  the  problem  still  more  difficult,  the  contours  are 
strongly  plicated  laterally,  so  that  a  backbone  or  ridge 
runs  right  up  through  the  center,  with  deeply  depressed 
valleys  on  either  side  (see  page  181.) 


RESIDENTIAL  PARKS  177 

Over  at  least  half  of  this  territory  a  fine  forest  of 
chestnuts  and  oaks  extends  itself.  It  is  not  very  wonder- 
ful, therefore,  to  discover  that  the  mountain  views  from 
these  slopes  are  enchanting  on  a  bright,  sunshiny  after- 
noon; but,  oh,  the  mountain  torrents  that  tear  down 
through  these  valleys,  and  the  perched-up  sites  for  houses 
that  seem  to  offer  insoluble  problems  to  those  whose  un- 
happy lot  it  is  to  devise  reasonably  accessible  houses  by 
means  of  devious  roads  and  paths.  The  first  thing  done 
was  the  establishment  of  a  drainage  system  that  was 
large  enough  to  take  care  of  the  greatest  rush  of  water 
that  it  would  be  possible  to  imagine  would  at  any  time 
occur.  The  pipe  used  was  in  part  two  feet  in  diameter, 
diminishing  gradually  to  one  foot,  and  extending  through- 
out the  lowest  part  of  the  valleys  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  territory. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  park,  at  the  lower  end,  a  simple 
but  picturesque  stone  lodge,  with  an  arched  passage 
through,  has  been  erected,  and  here  business  offices  are 
located.  Just  within  the  entrance,  a  small  reservation, 
some  three  acres  of  open  space,  has  been  reserved  for  a 
small  hotel  or  casino,  and  lawns  with  trees.  This  build- 
ing is  low  and  picturesque,  and  is  reached  by  a*  winding 
road,  for  the  passage  of  which  it  has  been  necessary  to 
make  deep  cuts,  in  order  to  partially  overcome  the  orig- 
inal inordinately  steep  grade  of  twenty  per  cent.,  so  far 
as  to  secure  a  fourteen  per  cent,  grade,  over  which  it  is 
possible  for  a  carriage  to  pass  with  some  degree  of 
comfort. 

It  is  evident  that  on  this  tract  of  land  the  extremes  in 
the  way  of  grades  have  been  reached.  The  puffing  and 
blowing  produced  by  the  mountain  climb  must  be  com- 
pensated by  the  mountain  views,  which,  as  we  strain  up- 
12 


178    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS     - 

ward,  we  may  feel  triumphantly  are  far  better  than 
those  of  the  flat  and  uninteresting  plain.  The  problem 
to  be  overcome  may  be  difficult,  but  it  is  not  surprisingly 
difficult,  and  is,  without  doubt,  well  worth  the  trouble  of 
an  intelligent  study  that  will  satisfactorily  develop  its 
possibilities  for  reasonable  comfort  and  beauty.  After 
all  has  been  done,  however,  that  can  be  done  by  the 
most  careful  study  of  grades,  there  still  remain  spots 
that  cannot,  by  any  possible  contrivance,  be  used  for 
living  purposes,  unless  it  be  proposed  to  assume  the 
habits  of  an  eagle  on  a  crag.  The  only  thing  that  can  be 
done  is  to  at  least  delight  the  eye  on  these  inaccessible 
spots  with  a  thick  covering  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines. 

A  little  open  meadow  and  moderately  sloping  hillside 
is  retained  near  the  entrance,  where  only  is  to  be  noticed 
any  considerable  stretch  of  turf  for  greensward. 

The  whole  region  is  a  mountain  hillside,  with  trees, 
shrubs,  and  vines  largely  clothing  its  slopes,  and  there- 
fore the  intention  is  evident  everywhere  of  supplementing 
the  work  of  Nature  in  the  same  spirit,  but  with  a  dis- 
tinct view  of  making  tasteful  and  comfortable  human 
homes  within  its  confines.  With  this  object  in  view, 
the  roads  are  built  solidly,  with  macadam  foundations, 
and  graveled,  and  all  connected  by  solid  stone  gutters 
and  road  basins  with  the  general  drainage  system.  Oc- 
casional hillside  flights  of  steps  are  introduced,  to  reach 
house  sites  that  a  carriage  may  not  attempt  to  approach. 
Retaining  walls  along  roads  also  have  been  found  neces- 
sary. But  the  unique,  and  specially  important,  adorn- 
ment of  the  territory  is  the  plantations  that  are  every- 
where carved  out  on  a  distinct  system.  They  are  really 
a  development  of  the  irregular  and  natural  masses  of 
foliage  that  already  exist  on  the  place,  keeping  dis- 


RESIDENTIAL  PARKS  179 

tinctly  in  view  the  open-air  comfort  that  is  needed  for 
each  and  all  of  the  houses.  It  might  seem,  at  first 
sight,  that  little  planting  would  be  needed  in  such  a 
thickly-wooded  region,  but  it  is  astonishing  how  many 
plants  can  be  used  in  what  is  already  a  comparatively 
well- clothed  territory. 

In  the  first  place,  along  the  drives,  wherever  there  is 
not  ample  shade  from  existing  forest,  there  is  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  trees  to  temper  the  rays  of  the  sun,  not 
necessarily  regularly  planted,  or  planted  alone,  without 
the  association  of  shrubs,  but  brought  in  as  a  shelter 
about  every  forty  or  fifty  feet.  They  consist,  chiefly,  of 
American  ashes,  tulip  trees,  American  lindens,  pin  oaks, 
chestnut  oaks,  wild  cherries,  and  one  or  two  kinds  of 
maples,  and  the  Oriental  plane  tree.  On  the  rugged 
reservations  not  fitted  for  residential  purposes,  shrubs 
like  the  lonicera  fragrantissima,  spiraea  opulifolia,  for- 
sythia  fortunii  and  suspensa,  itea  virginica,  symphoricar- 
pus  glomerata,  philadelphus,  red-twigged  dogwood, 
ligustrum  sinensis,  one  or  two  Japan  elseagnus,  and  a 
Japan  barberry.  These  are  not  all  that  have  been  used, 
but  they  are  the  most  important,  because  they  will  associ- 
ate themselves  well  with  the  vegetation  of  the  region. 

The  crowning  improvement  of  these  plantations,  how- 
ever, will  be  found  in  the  vines  and  creepers  that  appear 
everywhere  along  the  roads,  over  the  rocks,  and  down 
the  steep  banks  where  a  goat  could  hardly  climb.  The 
peculiarity  of  the  vine  treatment  of  this  small  park  is 
that  it  is  used  along  the  roads,  because  the  grass  turf 
will  not  thrive  as  well  on  these  steep  banks,  or  harmo- 
nize as  well  with  the  rugged  character  of  the  scenery. 

The  planting  is  made  with  such  vines  as  honeysuckle, 
running  roses,  wistaria  fruteseeas,  English  ivy,  etc., 


180  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 


ALBEMARLB  PARK,  ASHEVILLE,  N.  C.,  SHOWING 

planted  one  foot  to  two  feet  apart,  and  extended  in  an 
irregular  border  up  and  down,  and  along  the  base  of 
the  steep  banks,  and  along  the  edge  of  the  road.  This 
treatment  is  charming  in  its  wildwood  effect,  and  is,  in 
the  long  run,  economical.  The  vines,  to  get  an  early 
and  good  effect,  should  be  planted  about  a  foot  apart, 
although  even  at  three  feet  apart  they  will  make  a  thick 
turf,  or  mat,  in  two  or  three  years. 

In  many  places  English  ivy  will  do  well  used  as  turf  on 
the  ground,  and  is  certainly  very  picturesque  employed 
in  that  way.  No  vine,  however,  is  better  suited  to  this 
hillside  territory  than  the  Michigan  running  prairie-rose, 
rosa  setigera.  As  it  has  been  noted  elsewhere,  its 
growth  is  vigorous,  its  foliage  healthy,  and  its  bloom 
most  profuse. 

Even  in  the  lots  themselves,  a  few  trees  and  shrubs,  aa 


RESIDENTIAL  PARKS 


181 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  ROADS  AND  HOUSE  LOTS 

well  as  vines,  are  planted  in  harmony  with  the  general 
system,  so  as  to  establish  a  certain  standard  of  plant- 
ing, in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  kept  up  in  the  future 


CROSS  SECTION  OP  ALBEMARLE  PARK,  ASHEVILLE,   N.  C. 

by  all  those  who    buy    lots    on    which    to    construct 
homes. 

The  entire  exterior  boundary  of  the  place  has  a  stout 
wire  fence,  covered  with  honeysuckles  and  Virginia 
creepers,  and  wherever  trees  and  shrubs  are  lacking,  care 


182    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 


1940      ft 

LONGITUPINAL   SECTION   OF  ALBE 

is  taken  to  fill  in  foliage  by  planting  kinds  that  harmo- 
nize with  the  landscape  of  the  region. 

The  sites  of  the  houses  are  carefully  selected,  so  as  to 
get  the  best  views,  and  several  of  them  have  been  built 
and  sold  by  the  company  controlling  the  park,  so  as  to 
set  the  style  of  a  high  and  suitable  grade  of  architecture. 
The  treatment  of  one  piece  of  reserved  land  deserves 
special  attention,  where  a  bowl,  or  hollow,  has  been  made 
by  the  course  chosen  for  the  road.  A  few  small  oak 
trees  stand  here,  but  the  beauty  of  the  spot  has  been 
specially  improved  by  an  undergrowth  of  vines  and  creeping 
evergreen  plants,  and  the  introduction  of  a  noteworthy 
collection  of  the  splendid  native  American  azaleas :  azalea 
calendulacea,  azalea  vaseyii,  and  azalea  viscosa,  some  of 
which  glow  in  May  and  June  with  the  most  splendid  tints  of 
orange  and  red.  On  the  park  reservations  rustic  seats 
and  summer-houses  are  introduced,  with  all  the  appur- 
tenances for  different  games :  tennis,  golf,  croquet,  etc. 

This  entire  territory  is  a  particularly  difficult  place  to 
treat,  and  yet  every  spot  has  always  its  own  special 
difficulties  to  meet,  whether  it  be  of  drainage,  sites  for 
the  houses,  direction  of  roads,  on  account  of  grades, 
or  subdivision  of  lots. 


RESIDENTIAL  PARKS 


MARLE   PARK,  ASHEVILLE,  N.  C. 

It  may  seem  at  first  sight  easy,  but  there  are  really 
a  great  many  points  to  be  adjusted  to  the  aesthetic  and 
practical  needs  of  residents  before  the  arrangements  of 
a  residential  park,  for  that  is  what  a  building-lot  scheme 
should  be,  can  be  considered  completely  successful. 

Its  treatment  need  not  be  surprisingly  original,  or  fan- 
ciful, or  picturesque,  but  there  should  be  such  sane  con- 
sideration of  all  aspects,  practical  and  aesthetic,  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  case,  as  will  secure  that  sort  of  per- 
fect relation  of  all  its  parts  which  will  give  it  a  digni- 
fied and  sensible  beauty  that,  if  it  does  not  surprise  at 
first,  will  charm  after  all,  and  will  last. 


FENCES,  BRIDGES,  AND  SUMMER-HOUSES 

GENERALLY  speaking,  the  buildings  on  a  country 
place  belong  to  the  domain  of  architecture, 
having  only  the  associated  interest  in  the  land- 
scape that  grows  out  of  their  juxtaposition.  There  are, 
however,  a  class  of  structures  thoroughly  architectural 
in  their  character,  but  having  such  close  sympathy  with 
their  environment  that  it  is  easy  to  feel  that  they  belong 
to  the  landscape  in  a  more  intimate  way  than,  for  exam- 
ple, house  and  stables.  These  structures  exist  because 
they  are  a  distinct  development  of  some  special  land- 
scape feature  with  which  they  harmonize,  and  which 
they  complete. 

Fences,  bridges,  and  summer-houses  would  never  come 
into  being  if  the  boundaries,  streams,  and  foot-paths  of 
the  country  place  did  not  exist ;  but  the  house  and  sta- 
bles do  not  primarily  owe  their  being  to  any  landscape, 
for  man  and  horse  alike  must  have  covering  from  the 
weather,  though,  in  place  of  lawns  and  groves,  there 
should  be  stone-paved  courtyards. 

Perhaps  the  most  difficult  problem  to  solve  of  this 
landscape  form  of  architecture  is  the  management  of 
fence  or  wall.  It  is  a  perfectly  simple  proposition  that 
fences  or  walls  should  exist  in  some  shape,  wherever 


FENCES,  BRIDGES,  AND  SUMMER-HOUSES   185 

boundary  lines  are  established.  There  is  no  doubt,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  our  landscape  would  be  almost  in- 
variably improved  if  we  could  eliminate  the  wall  or  fence 
altogether,  for,  as  with  roads  and  paths,  the  landscape 
would  be  better  without  than  with  them.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  presence  of  generally  straight  walls  cutting  across 
the  line  of  vision  that  can  make  them  altogether  accept- 
able, but  the  length  to  which  they  are  extended  may  be, 
by  exercise  of  ingenuity,  limited  to  the  shortest  possible 
distance,  and  the  design  of  the  wall  constructed  may  be 
greatly  developed  and  improved  in  the  direction  of  agree- 
able lines  and  masses  of  color ;  and,  further,  its  objection- 
able character  may  be  greatly  suppressed  by  sinking  or 
screening  it,  allowing  the  eye  to  pass  over  it,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  so-called  ha-ha  fence  (see  page  186),  with  its 
ditch  six  to  ten  feet  wide,  and  a  dry  wall  two  and  a 
half  feet  to  three  feet  high  on  the  side  of  the  excavation 
nearest  the  pleasure  ground  which  is  to  be  protected 
from  the  farm. 

Indeed,  a  stone  or  brick  wall  may  have  a  rounded, 
and  even  graceful,  cap  or  top  line,  and  a  surface  with 
an  attractive  amount  of  light  and  shade,  produced  by 
suitably  designed  recesses  or  roughness  in  the  material 
used,  and,  above  all,  it  may  be  made  charming  by 
English  ivy,  planted  on  the  north  side,  or,  better  still, 
by  Japanese  ivy,  which  should  not  be  mingled  with  Vir- 
ginia creepers  and  the  roses  setigera  and  wichuriana, 
for  it  is  well  to  keep,  in  the  main,  the  different  kinds 
apart,  and  to  limit  the  climbers  on  such  walls  to  the 
more  strictly  decorative  sorts  just  mentioned.  The 
wilder,  more  unrestrained,  and  less  dignified  kinds  find 
fitting  positions  on  low  stone  walls,  lattice-work,  and  the 
lawn  bank  that  slopes  to  the  top  of  a  wall  and  then  drops 


186    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

to  the  side  of  the  walk  or  road  below.  It  is  interesting, 
moreover,  to  see  how  Nature  will  work  on  these  walls 
of  brick  or  stone,  in  the  course  of  time,  by  painting 
their  surface  with  minute  mosses  or  lichens,  and 
weather-beaten  stains,  and  as  it  is  seldom  that  man,  with 
all  his  vaunted  skill  and  his  use  of  vines,  can  accomplish 
altogether  satisfactory  work  in  this  direction,  his  best 
course  is,  after  all,  to  leave  his  walls  largely  to  the  slow 
action  of  the  varying  seasons.  It  will  surprise  many 
readers  to  find  how  great  a  source  of  pleasure  walls,  gen- 
erally so  devoid  of  interest,  become  to  them,  as  they 


HA-HA  FENCE,  FOR  SEPARATING  PLEASURE  GROUNDS  FROM  FARM  LANDS 

learn  to  develop,  and  bring  out  the  possibilities  for 
beauty,  of  the  plainest  kinds.  When,  moreover,  they  are 
once  satisfied  that  walls  are  worth  having  for  their  own 
intrinsic  beauty,  they  will  begin  to  realize  that,  if  a  bar- 
rier can  be  made  so  attractive,  the  seclusion  produced 
by  such  features  is  a  good  thing  to  have.  Of  course,  one 
may  object  to  being  shut  in  by  a  wall  ten  feet  high,  as 
some  of  the  English  parks  and  even  moderate-sized  Eng- 
lish homes  are,  but  one  likes  to  be  more  or  less  by  one's 
self,  and  not  on  gaze,  in  order  to  properly  rest  or  enjoy 
peaceful  recreation. 

Surely  if  we  are  going  to  spend  much  time  on  our 
home  grounds,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  much  pleasure 


FENCES,  BRIDGES,  AND  SUMMER-HOUSES    187 

or  advantage  in  being  in  evidence  all  the  time.  Per- 
haps the  reason  some  people  in  America  have  been  at- 
tempting to  do  away  with  the  fence  and  stone  wall 
altogether,  and  in  their  place  to  carry  the  lawn  directly 
to  the  sidewalk,  is  because  the  stone  wall  fails  to  interest 
them  sufficiently,  and  they  desire,  instead,  to  obtain  a 
greater  feeling  of  freedom ;  but  we  believe  that  if  they 
learned  how  to  design  the  form  and  coloring  of  the  wall 
better,  and  to  ornament  its  surface  with  suitable  vines, 
we  would  not  hear  so  much  about  making  lawns  without 
wall  or  fence.  The  author  undoubtedly  knows  residence 


IRON   PIPE   AND   ANCHOR-POST  PENCE 

portions  of  some  Western  towns  where  the  absence  of 
walls  on  the  sides  and  front  is  a  most  attractive  feature, 
but,  as  a  rule,  we  are  concerned  with  country  places 
where  the  requirements  are  better  met  by  walls  and 
fences. 

In  favor  of  the  erection  of  fences  there  is  less  to  be 
said,  though  their  use  is  sometimes  imperative;  fences 
are  an  advantage  to  the  place  only  in  so  far  as  they  afford 
the  seclusion  and  protection  from  without.  They  are 
less  defensible  than  walls,  because  they  can  hardly  be 
made  altogether  satisfactory  in  line,  contour,  or  sur- 
face ;  therefore,  what  we  can  do  with  fences  to  render 


188    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

them  tolerable  is  to  either  make  them  a  solid  barrier 
of  close-growing  vines,  or  to  construct  them  of  wires 
which,  at  a  little  distance,  are  entirely  invisible.  Such 
fences  may  be  made  successfully  of  locust  posts  joined 
by  bars  of  inch  gas-piping,  or  they  may  be  made  of  wire 
and  small  wooden  stakes,  or  iron  anchor-posts. 

In  the  eyes  of  many,  the  picket  fence,  in  all  its  forms 
of  both  iron  and  wood,  is  a  contrivance  that  tends  to 
produce  a  disagreeable  effect,  because  its  upright  bars 
are  apt  to  multiply  and  confuse  the  detached  glimmers 
of  view  we  get  through  the  regularly  intermittent  open 
spaces.  If  the  picket  fence  is  covered  largely  with  vines, 
as  the  horizontal  bar  form  ought  to  be,  there  can  be 
little  objection  to  it.  In  this  respect  it  is  easy  to  rec- 
ognize the  superiority  of  the  stone  wall  when  partially 
vine-covered,  for  the  variety  of  contrast  between  the 
surface  of  the  stone  wall  and  the  leaves  of  the  vines — and 
there  should  always  be  stone  wall  exposed — will  make 
an  effect  of  changing  beauty  that  a  vine-covered  fence 
cannot  hope  to  equal. 

It  is  impossible  to  commend  too  highly  the  use,  along 
walls  and  fences,  of  what  may  be  termed  hedge-rows, 
and  which  are  actually  shrub-groups.  Hedge-row  seems 
to  be  a  good  term  to  employ,  because  it  indicates  a  cer- 
tain wild  character  that  greatly  increases  the  attraction 
of  masses  of  shrubs  and  trees  along  a  stone  wall  or 
fence,  and  although  this  wild  appearance  has  been  prob- 
ably secured  by  setting  afresh  native  shrubs,  or  kinds 
allied  to  them  in  habit,  and  planting  them  with  consider- 
able art,  it  is  the  chief  advantage  of  the  arrangement 
that  the  shrubs  will  seem  to  have  grown  there  them- 
selves, and  not  to  have  been  imposed,  just  at  that  point, 
as  an  artificial  barrier. 


FENCES,  BRIDGES,  AND  SUMMER-HOUSES   189 

If  it  can  be  so  arranged,  it  is  a  good  idea  to  secure 
variations  in  the  seclusion  of  hedge-rows,  or  shrub  and 
tree  borders,  by  leaving  out  trees  at  considerable  inter- 
vals, and  thus  securing  more  distant  and  agreeable  views 
which,  in  any  case,  are  valuable  for  the  change  they  give 
to  the  general  scope  of  the  scenery.  There  is  naturally, 
no  ordinary  limit  to  the  small  size  of  the  place  or  village 
lot  where  this  hedge-row,  or  border,  can  be  used  effect- 
ively, because  three  trees  and  a  dozen  shrubs  of  the 


SUMMER-HOUSE,   CENTRAL  PARK,   NEW  YORK. 

right  kind,  and  rightly  arranged,  will  make,  in  their  way, 
as  satisfactory  and  agreeable  a  screen  for  the  hard  lines 
of  the  fence  or  stone  wall,  as  if  they  were  replaced  by  a 
bordering  of  shrubs  and  trees  a  mile  long.  Naturally, 
the  normal  size  of  the  kinds  of  shrubs  and  trees  used  on 
narrow,  long  lots,  fifty  or  seventy-five  feet  by  a  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  should  be  much  smaller,  since  the  scale  of 
everything  is  smaller. 

The  problem  of  designing  summer-houses,  arbors,  and 
what  are  termed  rustic  buildings  of  different  kinds,  and 
setting  them  at  suitable  points  on  the  lawn,  naturally 


190    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

proves  attractive  to  all  lovers  of  picturesque  effects.  As 
ordinarily  seen,  rustic  architecture  of  this  kind  means 
the  use  of  white  cedar  covered  with  bark,  and  cut  into 
many  short  pieces  that  are  worked  into  the  design  of  a 
form  of  lattice-work,  that  often  proves  to  be  ingenious 
rather  than  attractive;  and,  furthermore,  this  kind  of 
rustic  wood  displays  an  unfortunate  tendency  to  drop  its 


SUMMER-HOUSE 

bark  in  great  pieces,  owing  to  decay  setting  in  under  the 
bark  and  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  wood.  Naturally, 
this  decay  is  liable  to  extend,  in  a  comparatively  short 
time,  throughout  the  whole  structure,  so  that  it  will  be 
apparent  at  once  that  all  bark  should  be  stripped  off 
before  using.  Instead  of  white  cedar,  it  is  better  still  to 
employ  red  cedar,  or  the  yellow  locust,  one  of  the  most 
enduring  of  woods,  for  this  purpose,  entirely  stripping  it 


FENCES,  BRIDGES,  AND  SUMMER-HOUSES   191 

of  bark,  and  setting  it  in  the  ground  on  brick  or  stone 
foundations. 

Used  in  this  way,  in  accordance  with  simple  and  taste- 
ful designs,  rustic  architecture  finds  its  proper  place  in 
the  domain  of  the  home  grounds,  but  the  moment  the 
rustic  building  becomes  more  pretentious  in  appearance 
than  is  needed  to  carry  the  clinging  folds  of  climbing 
vines — and  the  fact  should  by  this  time  have  been  made 
evident  that  the  structure's  special  function  is  support- 
ing vines  and  giving  people  convenient  and  attractive 
resting  places — then  such  buildings,  overloaded  and  ex- 
cessively ornamented,  look  like  intrusions  on  the  lawn. 


SUMMER-HOUSE,   CENTRAL  PARK,   NEW  YORK. 

It  scarcely  needs  to  be  said,  however,  that  the  highest 
designing  ability  may  be  exercised  profitably  on  the 
simple  lines  and  structure  needed  to  complete  the  plain- 
est arbor  or  summer-house  for  vines.  There  is  a  little 
precaution  to  be  taken  in  training  vines  over  arbors  and 
summer-houses  which,  while  it  seems  hardly  worth  men- 
tioning, in  practice  helps  the  development  in  a  short 
time  of  an  effective  growth  of  leaves,  and  that  is  the  inva- 
riable erection  of  wires  or  lattice-work  on  all  buildings 
before  the  climbing  plants  are  set  out.  In  this  way  the 
vines  will  gain  support  at  once,  and  push  up  with  redoubled 
vigor,  which  may  be  still  more  enhanced  by  daily  train- 


192    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

ing  of  wandering  tendrils  in  the  way  they  should  go. 
There  are  not  many  places  where  summer-houses  and 
arbors  find  appropriate  location,  and  one  of  the  most 
important  considerations  that  should  govern  the  selec- 
tion of  locations  for  such  buildings  is  seclusion.  This 
is  the  reason  the  summer-house,  or  arbor,  seems  to  fit 
so  well  in  the  nooks  and  corners  of  flower-gardens. 
There  are  few  private  places  where  bridges  are  needed, 
and  parks  are  apt  to  be  too  much  overloaded  with  them 


PERGOLA,   OR  OPEN   VINE-COVERED   ARBOR 

for  the  general  beauty  of  the  locality,  although  their 
evident  necessity  may  often  force  their  employment  in 
places  where  their  presence  is  not,  for  aBsthetic  reasons, 
altogether  satisfactory.  It  is  not  the  intention  of  the 
author  to  make  any  special  suggestions  in  regard  to  the 
actual  design  of  bridges,  for  that  will  depend  on  the  situ- 
ation. In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  said  that  all  bridges 
in  ordinary  landscape  architecture  should,  particularly 
when  they  stand  entirely  beyond  the  strict  domain  of  the 
house,  be  kept  simple,  unobtrusive,  and  subordinated  to 
the  primal  elements  of  the  home  grounds,  the  dwelling, 


FENCES,  BRIDGES,  AND  SUMMER-HOUSES   193 

the  lawn,  and  the  plantations.  Indeed,  it  should  be 
always  remembered  that  rustic  architecture  is  a  feature 
of  the  grounds  which  should  never  be  introduced  except 
when,  as  in  the  case  of  roads  and  paths,  its  practical 
advantages  become  evidently  paramount. 
It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  always,  in  designing  alike 


PLAIN  RUSTIC  BRIDGE  IN   GENTLEMAN'S  COUNTRY   PLACE 

the  arrangement  of  the  smallest  village  lot  and  the  fin- 
est country  place  or  public  park,  that  the  presence  of 
a  wood,  stone,  or  brick  structure  will,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  produce  a  certain  dissatisfaction  when  we  find 
that  we  must  accept  it  in  place  of  more  natural  objects, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  no  architect  can,  in  the  humble 
opinion  of  the  author,  design  a  building  that  is  in  itself 
13 


194    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 


BOW  BRIDGE,  CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK . 

as  attractive  as  trees  and  shrubs  and  flowers  and  grass. 
That  is  why,  as  in  all  constructions,  the  style  of  the 
bridge  should  not  be  left  to  the  architect  alone,  but  its 
location,  style,  and  its  decoration  with  trees  and  shrubs 
should  be  decided  by  the  landscape  architect. 


STONE  BRIDGE  OVER  SMALL  STREAM 


LIST  OF  PLANTS  FOR  GENERAL  USE  ON  HOME 
GROUNDS 

(For  description  of  these  plants  refer  to  page  references  herewith  given.) 

DECIDUOUS  TREES  SUITABLE  FOR  SPRING  EFFECT 

*  Plants  distinct  and  specially  suitable  for  mass  planting  on  the  lawn. 

Acer  campestre,  English  Field  Maple,  96. 

Acer  rubrum,  Red  or  Scarlet  Maple,  95. 
*Alnus  incana,  107. 

Betula  alba,  White  Birch,  3,  65,  103,  124,  245. 

Cerasus  japonica  pendula,  Japan  Weeping  Cherry,  102. 

Cerasus  sinensis  flore  plena,  102. 
*Cornus  florida,  White  Flowering  Dogwood,  109,  110,  244,  245. 

Magnolia  conspicua,  Chinese  White  Magnolia,  65,  99. 

Magnolia  stellata,  Hall's  Japan  Magnolia,  99. 

Pyms  coronaria  odorata,  Flowering  Apple,  102. 
*Pyrus  baccata  japonica  (parkmanii),  65,  102. 

Pyrus  mains  flexilis  spectabilis,  Chinese  Double  White-flowering  Craby 

102. 
*Salix  laurifolia,  Laurel-leaved  Willow,  108,  230. 

Salix  aurea,  108,  230. 
*Salix  regalis,  Royal  Willow. 

Salix  rosmarinifolia,  Rosemary-leaved  Willow. 

DECIDUOUS  TREES  SUITABLE  FOR  SUMMER  EFFECT 

Acer  sieboldii,  Japanese  Maple,  96. 
*Acer  platanoides,  Norway  Maple,  94,  244. 
Acer  polymorphum,  Japan  Maple,  3,  65,  96,  244, 


196    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

Acer  atropurpureum,  Dark  Purple-leaved  Japan  Maple,  96. 

Acer  sanguineum,  Blood-leaved  Japan  Maple,  96. 

Acer  platanoides  schwerdleri,  244. 

Acer  pseudo-platanus,  European  Sycamore  Maple,  95,  244. 

JSsculus  rubicunda,  Red-flowered  Horse-chestnut,  65,  102. 
*Amelanchier  japonica,  113. 
*Amelanchier  botryapium,  113. 

Betula  fastigiata,  European  White  Pyramidal  Birch. 

Betula  papyracea,  Paper  or  Canoe  Birch. 

Carpinus  americana,  American  Hornbeam,  65,  105. 

Castanea  americana,  American  Chestnut,  106. 

Catalpa  bungei,  230. 

Catalpa  bignonioides,  102,  230. 

Celtis  occidentalis,  American  Nettle  Tree,  113. 

Cerasus  serotina,  Wild  Cherry,  179,  230. 

Chionanthus  virginica,  White  Fringe,  114. 

Cladrastis  tinctoria,  Yellow-wood,  101. 
*CratsBgus  crus-galli,  Smooth-leaved  Thorn,  120,  230. 

Cratsegus  coccinea,  120. 
*Crataegus  tomentosa,  120 
*Fagus  ferruginea,  American  Beech,  65,  104,  226. 
*Fagus  sylvatica,  European  Beech,  65,  104,  226. 

Fagus  heterophylla,  Fern-leaved  Beech. 

Fagus  pendula,  Weeping  Beech,  104. 

Fagus  purpurea,  Purple-leaved  Beech,  104. 
*Fraxinus  americana,  American  Ash,  103,  179,  226,  244. 

Fraxinus  juglandifolia,  Walnut-leaved  Ash. 

Fraxinus  ornus,  European  Flowering  Ash. 
*Gleditschia  triacanthus,  Honey  Locust,  100,  230. 

Glyptostrobus  sine'nsis  pendula,  Chinese  Weeping  Cypi 

Gymnocladus  canadensis,  Kentucky  Coffee  Tree. 

Juglans  nigra,  Black  Walnut. 

Koelreuteria  paniculata. 

Larix  kaempferi. 
*Liriodendron  tulipifera,  Tulip  Tree,  98,  179,  244. 

Magnolia  acuminata,  Cucumber  Magnolia. 

Magnolia  macrophylla,  Great-leaved  Magnolia,  99. 

Magnolia  watsonii,  99. 

Moms  alba,  White  Mulberry. 


DECIDUOUS  AND  EVERGREEN  TREES    197 

Phellodendron  amurense,  Chinese  Cork  Tree. 
*Platanus  orientalis,  Oriental  Plane,  100,  179,  230,  244. 

Eopulus  balsamifera,  Balsam  Poplar,  101. 

Populus  Carolina,  Carolina  Poplar,  101. 

Populus  fastigiata,  Lombardy  Poplar,  101. 

Quercus  daimio,  Japan  Oak. 
*Quercus  palustris,  Pin  Oak,  105,  179,  226. 
*Quercus  prinus,  Chestnut-leaved  Oak,  106,  179. 
*Quercus  rubra,  Red  Oak,  106,  226. 

Salisburia  adiantifolia,  106,  230. 
*Salix  vitellina,  Golden  Willow,  108. 

Sophora  japonica,  106. 
*Tilia  americana,  American  Linden,  97,  179,  244. 

Tilia  europsea,  European  Linden,  97,  244. 

Tilia  alba,  White-leaved  European  Linden,  97,  244. 

Tilia  dasystyla,  244. 
*Ulmus  americana,  American  White  Elm,  96,  226,  244. 

Ulmus  campestris,  English  Elm,  97,  226,  244. 

DECIDUOUS  TREES  SUITABLE  FOR  AUTUMN  EFFECT 

Acer  tartaricum  ginnale,  65,  96. 
*Acer  rubrum,  Red  Maple,  95. 
*Acer  saccharinum,  Sugar  or  Rock  Maple,  94. 
*Liriodendron  tulipifera,  Tulip  Tree,  98. 
*Liqufdambar  styraciflua,  Sweet  Gum  or  Bilsted,  103. 

Quercus  coccinea,  Scarlet  Oak. 
*Quercus  rubra,  Red  Oak,  106. 

EVERGREEN  TREES   SUITABLE    FOR    SUMMER  AND  WINTER 
EFFECT 

*Abies  alcocquiana,  Alcock's  Spruce. 

Abies  canadensis,  Hemlock  Spruce,  123. 
*Abies  douglasii,  Douglas'  Spruce. 
*Abies  orientalis,  Eastern  Spruce,  122,  226. 

Juniperus  chinensis,  Chinese  Juniper. 

Juniperus  japonica,  Japan  Juniper. 

Juniperus  prostrata,  Prostrate  Juniper. 

Juniperus  squamata,  Scaled  Juniper. 


198  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

*Juniperus  virginiana,  Red  Cedar,  122. 
*Pinus  austriaca,  Austrian  or  Black  Pine. 
*Pinus  mugho,  Dwarf  Mugho  Pine,  122. 
*Pinus  cembra,  Swiss  Stone  Pine,  122. 
*Pinus  strobus,  White  or  Weymouth  Pine,  122,  226. 
*Taxus  cuspidata,  123,  226. 
Taxns  baccata,  English  Yew,  226. 

DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  SUITABLE  FOR  SPRING  EFFECT 

*Amelanchier  japonica,  113. 
*Azalea  calendulacea,  109,  182. 
*Calycanthus  floridus. 

Chionanthus  virginica,  White  Fringe,  114. 

Cornus  alba  sanguinea,  Red-stemmed  Dogwood,  110, 179. 
*Cornus  mascula,  Cornelian  Cherry,  110. 

Cornus  paniculata,  Panicled  Dogwood,  110. 
*Corylus  avellana,  European  Hazel,  110. 

Cydonia  japonica,  Scarlet  Japan  Quince,  109. 

Daphne  mezereum,  Common  Mezereon. 

Deutzia  scabra,  110. 

Diervilla  hortensis  nivea,  White-flowered  Weigela,  110. 

Diervilla  rosea,  Rose-colored  Weigela,  110. 

Exochorda  grand  iflora. 
*Forsythia  fortunii,  Fortune's  Forsythia,  111,  179,  244. 

Forsythia  suspensa,  Weeping  Forsythia,  111,  179,  244. 

Forsythia  viridissima,  111,  244. 
*Lonicera  fragrantissima,  Upright  Honeysuckle,  115,  179,  230C 

Lonicera  standishii,  244. 

Lonicera  tartarica,  Tartarian  Honeysuckle,  244. 

Lonicera  ccerulea  or  sullivantii,  244. 
*Philadelphus  grandiflorus,  Mock  Orange,  116,  179,  230,  244. 

Pseonia  moutan,  Tree  peony. 

Philadelphus  laxus,  116,  230,  244. 

Philadelphus  tomentosa,  116,  230,  244. 

Prunus  triloba,  Double-flowering  Plum. 

Ptelea  trifoliata. 

Pyrus  arbutifolia. 
*Spiraea  thunbergii,  117,  135. 

Spiraea  van  houttii,  117. 


DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  199 

Viburnum  opulus,  118. 

*  Viburnum  opulus  sterilis,  Guelder  Rose,  118. 
Viburnum  plicatum,  Plicate-leaved  snowball,  118. 

DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  SUITABLE  FOR  SUMMER  EFFECT 

Aralia  pentaphylla. 

*Azalea  nudiflora,  Pink-flowering  American  Honeysuckle. 
*Baccharis  halimifolia,  117. 
*Berberis  canadensis,  American  Barberry,  112,  244. 

Clethra  alnifolia,  Sweet  Pepper  Bush,  109. 
*Elaeagnus  longipes,  111,  179,  230. 

Euonymus  atropurpureus,  Burning  Bush,  111. 

Hibiscus  syriacus,  114,  230. 

Hydrangea  quercifolia,  Oak-leaved  Hydrangea,  230. 

Hypericum  aureum. 

Hypericum  calycinum. 

Hypericum  kalmianum. 
*Hypericum  moserianum. 

Itea  virginica,  109. 
*Ligustrum  vulgare,  Box-leaved  Privet,  74,  115. 

Ligustrum  ovalifolium,  California  Privet,  114. 

Ligustrum  sinense,  Chinese  Privet,  179. 
*Ligustrum  ibota,  115,  244. 

Myrica  cerifera,  117,  230. 

Ptelea  trifoliata. 
*Rhodotypus  kerrioides,  3,  116. 

Rhus  aromatica. 

Rosa  rugosa,  Japanese  Rose,  119,  244. 

Rosa  rubiginosa,  57,  119. 

Rosa  multiflora,  119. 

Rosa  Carolina,  57,  119. 

Rosa  laxa,  119. 

Rosa,  Sweetbrier,  57,  119. 

Spiraea  ariaefolia. 
*Spiraea  opulifolia,  117,  179,  244. 

Spiraea  van  houttii,  117. 
*Symphoricarpus  vulgaris,  3,  117,  179. 

Syringa  japonica,  110. 

Syringa  japonica  ligustrina  pekinensis,  110. 


200    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

Syringa  villosa,  110. 

Tamarix  africana,  230. 

Tamarix  chinensis,  230. 
"Viburnum  dentatum,  119,  244. 

Viburnum  sieboldii,  118,  244. 

Viburnum  opulus,  118,  230,  244. 

Viburnum  plicatum,  118. 

Viburnum  lantana,  118,  244. 
""Viburnum  prunifolium,  Plum-leaved  Viburnum,  118,  230. 

DECIDUOUS  SHRUBS  SUITABLE  FOR  AUTUMN  EFFECT 

"Andromeda  (oxydendron  arborea),  108. 
*Berberis  thunbergii,  112,  179,  244. 

Euonymus  europsenus,  European  Euonymus,  111. 

Hydrangea  paniculata,  230. 

Hydrangea  paniculata  grandiflora,  114,  230. 

Rhus  cotinus,  113,  230. 

Rhus  osbeckii,  230. 

Rhus  typhina. 

Spiraea  thunbergii,  117,  135,  244. 

EVERGREEN  SHRUBS  SUITABLE  FOR  SUMMER  AND  WINTER 
EFFECT 

Andromeda  catesbii,  109,  128. 

Azalea  amoena,  126. 
*Buxus  sempervirens,  Tree  Box,  128. 

Crataegus  pyracantha,  126. 

Ilex  opaca,  American  Holly,  74,  125. 

Ilex  crenata,  Japanese  Holly,  74,  125. 
*Kalmia  latifolia,  Mountain  Laurel,  127. 

Mahonia  aquifolium,  Holly-leaved  Mahonia,  126. 
"Rhododendron  catawbiense,  Catawba  Rosebay,  127. 

DECIDUOUS  CLIMBERS  SUITABLE  FOR  SUMMER  EFFECT 

Actinidia  polygama,  143. 
Akebia  quinata,  226. 

*Ampelopsis  quinquefolia,  Virginia  Creeper,  142,  185,  226,  245. 
Ampelopsis  tricuspidata  (veitchii),  Japan  Ivy,  141,  185,  226,  227. 
Aristolochia  sipho,  Dutchman's  Pipe,  143. 


HERBACEOUS  PLANTS  AND  ANNUALS   201 

Celastms  scandens,  Climbing  Celastrus. 

Clematis  henryii,  141. 

Clematis  jackmanii,  141,  226. 

Clematis  hybrida  sieboldii. 
*Clematis  paniculata,  141,  245. 

Clematis  virginiana,  American  White  Clematis,  141. 

Dolichos  japonica,  143. 

Hedera  helix,  English  Ivy,  143,  185,  227. 

Lonicera  brachypoda  aureo  reticulata,  Japan  Golden-leaved  Honey- 
suckle. 

Lonicera  sinensis,  Chinese  Honeysuckle,  142. 
*Lonicera  halleana,  226,  245. 

Periploca  Grseca,  141. 

*Rosa  setigera,  Michigan  Climbing  Rose,  3,  143,  226. 
*Rosa  wichuriana,  Memorial  Rose,  3,  144. 

Tecoma  radicans,  American  Trumpet  Creeper,  142,  226. 

DECIDUOUS  CLIMBERS  SUITABLE  FOR  SPRING  EFFECT 

'Wistaria  sinensis,  Chinese  Wistaria,  142,  226. 
Wistaria  frutescens,  Clustered  Flowered  Wistaria,  142,  226. 

HERBACEOUS  PLANTS  AND  ANNUALS  SUITABLE  FOR  SPRING 
EFFECT 

Aquilegia  canadensis. 

Aquilegia  chrysantha. 

Crocus  verna,  134. 

Hepatica  triloba. 

Iris  pumila. 

Iris  pseudacorus,  132. 

Lily  of  the  Valley,  134. 

*Narcissus  princeps  and  major  and  incomparabilis,  133. 
*Narcissus  polyanthus,  133. 

Narcissus,  Poet's  Narcissus,  134. 

Pansies,  57,  58. 

Peonies,  single  and  double,  135,  136. 
*Phlox  subulata  rosea,  133. 

Sanguinaria  canadensis. 

Trillium  nivale, 


202    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

Trillium  grandiflorum. 
Trillium  erectum. 
Tulip,  Hardy. 
*Vinca  minor. 
Viola  pedata. 

HERBACEOUS  PLANTS  SUITABLE  FOR  SUMMER  EFFECT 

Acorti  calamus. 

Antirrhinum  (Snap  Dragon). 

Anemone  japonica,  134. 

Arethusa  bulbosa. 

Asclepias  tuberosa,  Milk-weed,  135,  231. 
*  Aster  novaea-anglisea,  135. 

Aster,  Annuals,  57. 

Boltonia. 

Begonia  vernon 

Callirrhoe  involucrata. 

Calleopsis,  Tom  Thumb. 

Calopogon  pulchellus. 

Campanula  medium,  Canterbury  Bell,  135. 

Campanula  rotunifolia,  Hare  Bell. 

Cassia  marilandica,  American  Senna. 

Chrysanthemum  filifera,  135. 
*Coreopsis  lanceolata,  133. 

Dahlias,  132,  135. 

Delphinium  (larkspur)  formosum,  57,  70,  130. 

Dianthus  barbatus,  Sweet-william,  133. 

Dianthus  plumarius  (Garden  Pink),  57,  133. 

Dicentra  cucularia,  133. 

Dicentra  exima,  133. 

Dicentra  formosa,  133. 

Eulalia  japonica. 

Euphorbia  corollata. 

Ferns,  Hardy,  170. 

Gladioli. 

Gaillardia,  133. 

Gentiana  andrewsii. 

Geranium  maculatum. 
*Helenium  autumnale,  135,  136,  231. 


HERBACEOUS  PLANTS  AND  ANNUALS   203 

Helianthus  maximilianii,  Sunflower,  57,  70,  135,  136. 

Helianthus  veitchii. 

Hemerocallis  flava,  Day  Lily. 

Hibiscus  crimson  eye,  Rose-mallow,  135,  231. 
*Hibiscus  moscheutos  rosea,  135,  136,  231. 

Hollyhocks,  Alleghany  kinds,  57,  135,  170. 
*Iris  germanica,  German  iris,  132. 
"Iris  pseudacorus,  132,  140. 
"Iris  ksempf  eri,  Japan  iris,  132. 
*Lilium  auratum,  132. 

Lilium  longifolium,  132. 

Lilium  canadense,  132. 

Lilium  album,  132. 

Lilium  superbum,  132. 

Lilium  tigrinum,  132. 

Marigold,  dwarf,  57. 

Mignonette,  57. 

Myosotis  palustris,  57. 

Monarda  didyma. 

Nasturtium,  57. 

Nelumbium  speciosum,  Lotus,  139. 

Nelumbium  luteum,  139. 

Nymphaea  odorata,  American  Water-lily,  139. 

Peas,  sweet. 
*Phlox,  garden,  37,  132. 

Phlox  drummondii,  annual,  57. 
*Pontederia  cordata,  140. 

Poppy,  single,  annual,  large  flowered,  57,  136. 

Poppy,  Iceland,  57. 
*Pyrethrum  uliginosum,  135,  136,  231. 

Rudbeckia  grandiflora,  57,  70,  135. 
*Sarracenia  purpurea,  Pitcher  Plant,  140. 

Solidago  csesia,  Golden  Rod,  135,  136. 

Stylophorum  diphyllum,  Celandine  Poppy. 

Tradescantia  virginica, 

Torrenia  fournieri. 

Ten  Weeks  Stock. 

Viola  canadensis. 

Viola  cornuta. 
*Zinnias. 


CONTRACTS  AND  SPECIFICATIONS 


AGREEMENT  made  this  fifth  day  of  November,  1898,  between 

(hereinafter  called  the  owner),  party  of  the  first  part,  and 
of  the  city  of  New  York  (hereinafter  called  the  con- 
tractor), party  of  the  second  part,  WITNESSETH  : 

That  the  owner  and  the  contractor,  for  and  in  consideration  of  the 
sum  of  one  dollar  each  to  the  other  in  hand  paid,  and  other  valuable 
considerations,  the  receipt  whereof  is  hereby  acknowledged,  have 
agreed  as  follows  : 

FIRST  :  The  contractor  agrees  to  do  and  perform  all  the  work  and 
furnish  and  supply  all  the  materials  required  to  finish  and  complete 
the  roadways,  paths,  turf,  plantations,  mold,  top-soil,  etc.,  men- 
tioned and  referred  to  in  and  called  for  by  the  drawings  and  specifica- 
tions made  by  ,  landscape  artist,  and  signed  by  the  owner 
and  contractor,  relating  to  the  grounds  to  be  laid  out  on  lots  belonging 
to  said  owner,  and  known  as  in  the  city  of  New  York,  which 
drawings  and  specifications  are  hereto  annexed  and  made  a  part  of 
this  contract,  in  consideration  of  the  payment  to  the  said  contractor 
by  the  said  owner  of  the  sum  of  dollars,  at  the  dates  and  in  the 
manner  hereinafter  provided.  And  the  contractor  further  agrees  to 
perform  the  work  aforesaid  in  a  good  and  workmanlike  and  substantial 
manner,  under  the  direction  and  to  the  satisfaction  and  approval  of 
the  said  ,  landscape  architect,  his  successor  or  successors. 

SECOND  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  all  materials  furnished 
and  provided  by  him  shall  be  of  the  kind  and  quality  described  in  said 
specifications,  and  further  agrees  that  all  materials  required  to  be  fur- 
nished and  supplied  which  are  not  described  in  said  specifications  shall 


CONTRACTS  AND  SPECIFICATIONS      205 

be  of  the  best  quality  and  shall  be  approved  by  said  ,  land- 

scape architect,  his  successor  or  successors. 

THIRD  :  The  contractor  agrees  to  begin  work  under  this  contract 
on  the  first  day  of  January,  1898,  and  to  fully  perform,  complete,  and 
finish  all  work,  and  furnish  and  supply  all  materials  embraced  in  this 
contract  and  said  drawings  and  specifications,  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  terms  and  requirements  of  this  contract  and  said  drawings 
and  specifications,  by  the  first  day  of  June,  1898,  and  that  in  the  event 
of  his  failure  so  to  do,  he  will  pay  to  the  party  of  the  first  part,  as 
liquidated  and  stipulated  damages,  and  not  by  the  way  of  penalty,  the 
sum  of  fifty  dollars  ($50)  for  every  day  that  the  work  called  for  by 
this  contract  shall  remain  uncompleted  and  unfinished  subsequent  to 
June  1,  1898,  up  to  and  including  the  fifteenth  day  of  July,  1898,  and 
will  pay  to  the  owner  the  sum  of  seventy-five  ($75)  a  day  as  liquidated 
and  stipulated  damages,  and  not  by  way  of  penalty,  for  every  day  that 
the  work  called  for  by  this  contract  shall  remain  uncompleted  and 
unfinished  to  said  fifteenth  day  of  July,  1898  ;  and  the  said  contractor 
further  agrees  that  the  said  owner  may  deduct  and  retain  said  liqui- 
dated and  stipulated  damages  out  of  any  moneys  due  him  under  the 
terms  of  this  contract  at  the  date  of  said  damages,  or  any  part 
thereof,  shall  accrue,  or  out  of  any  moneys  that  may  thereafter  become 
due  to  said  contractor  under  the  terms  of  this  contract. 

FOURTH  :  The  contractor  agrees  that  he  will,  at  his  own  expense, 
provide  and  furnish  any  and  all  materials  (including  water),  labor, 
tools,  implements,  and  cartage,  of  every  description,  necessary  to  the 
due  performance  of  said  work  and  the  full  and  complete  performance 
of  this  contract. 

FIFTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  he  proceed  with  the  said 
work,  and  every  part  and  detail  thereof,  in  a  prompt  and  diligent  man- 
ner, and  at  such  reasonable  times  as  may  be  necessary  and  proper  in 
order  to  complete  and  finish  the  same,  and  every  part  and  appurte- 
nance thereof,  in  a  durable  and  substantial  manner,  on  the  said  first 
day  of  June,  1898,  and  without  the  performance  of  any  part  of  the 
said  work  in  unsuitable  weather. 

SIXTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  he  will  not  at  any  time 
suffer  or  permit  any  lien,  attachment,  or  other  incumbrance,  under  any 
law  of  this  State,  or  otherwise,  to  be  put  on  the  premises  upon  which 
the  aforesaid  work  is  to  be  done,  and  for  which  the  aforesaid  materials 
are  to  be  furnished  under  this  contract  for  such  work  or  materials,  or 


206    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

by  reason  of  any  claim  or  demand  against  him,  the  said  contractor  ; 
and  that  should  any  lien,  attachment,  or  incumbrance  be  placed  or  filed 
upon  said  materials,  the  said  contractor  shall  not,  until  such  lien, 
attachment,  or  other  incumbrance  shall  be  removed,  satisfied,  and  dis- 
charged, be  entitled  to  claim,  demand,  or  receive  any  payment  whatever 
under  or  by  virtue  of  this  contract. 

SEVENTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  the  plans,  drawings, 
and  specifications  hereinbefore  mentioned  are  intended  to  cooperate 
so  that  any  matter  or  thing  contained  or  shown  by  one  and  not  by  the 
other  shall  be  of  the  same  force  and  effect  as  if  contained  in  and 
shown  by  both ;  and  that  he  will  perform  any  work  and  furnish  all 
materials  shown  by  either  without  extra  charge,  claim,  or  demand 
whatsoever. 

EIGHTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  the  owner  may,  at  any 
time  during  the  progress  of  the  work,  alter,  change,  deviate  from,  and 
add  to  said  drawings  and  specifications,  and  that  any  such  alteration, 
change,  deviation,  or  addition  shall  in  no  way  affect  the  validity  of 
this  contract.  Provided,  that  if  such  alterations,  changes,  devia- 
tions, or  additions  shall  decrease  the  aggregate  cost  of  said  work  and 
materials,  then  the  amount  of  such  decrease  in  cost  shall  be  deducted 
from  the  said  sum  of  $  ,  and  the  said  owner  shall  only  be  liable  to 
pay  to  the  contractor  the  balance  remaining  after  making  said  deduc- 
tions as  aforesaid  ;  and  provided  further,  that  if  such  alterations, 
changes,  deviations,  or  additions  shall  increase  the  aggregate  cost  of 
said  work  and  materials  beyond  said  balance  remaining  after  making 
the  deductions  aforesaid,  then  the  said  owner  shall  pay  to  the  said 
contractor  the  amount  of  such  excess  in  cost,  with  ten  per  cent,  on 
the  said  excess  in  addition  to  said  balance. 

NINTH  :  And  the  contractor  further  agrees  that  he  shall  not  be 
entitled  to  claim,  demand,  or  receive  any  pay  for  extra  work,  unless 
the  necessity  for  such  extra  work  shall  be  certified  to  by  the  said 
,  or  his  successor  or  successors,  in  writing ;  and  the  price 
to  be  paid  for  such  extra  work  shall  have  been  fixed  and  determined 
before  the  same  shall  have  been  performed,  by  a  written  memorandum 
ordering  the  extra  work  to  be  done,  and  stating  the  price  to  be  paid 
therefor,  signed  by  the  owner. 

TENTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  if  he  shall  at  any  time 
neglect  or  refuse  to  supply  a  sufficient  number  of  workmen  of  requisite 
skill,  or  to  furnish  materials  of  the  kind  and  quality  called  for  by  this 


CONTRACTS  AND  SPECIFICATIONS      207 

contract  and  said  specifications,  or  shall  fail  in  any  respect  to  prose- 
cute the  said  work  with  promptness  and  diligence,  or  shall  be  in 
default  in  the  performance  of  any  covenant  in  this  contract  contained 
on  his  part  to  be  kept  and  performed,  for  the  period  of  three  days 
after  notice  in  writing,  signed  by  the  owner,  of  such  default  shall  have 
been  served  upon  him,  either  personally  or  by  leaving  the  same  at  his 
residence  or  place  of  business,  then,  and  in  such  event,  the  said  owner 
shall  have  the  right  and  power  to  employ  other  persons  to  perform  the 
work  and  furnish  the  materials  required  by  this  contract,  and  to  com- 
plete the  same  in  every  respect,  and  the  cost  and  expense  thereof  at 
the  reasonable  market  rates  in  excess  of  the  unpaid  balance  of  the 
contract  price  shall  be  a  charge  against  him,  the  said  contractor,  and 
he  will  pay  the  same  to  the  said  owner  ;  and  he,  the  said  contractor, 
shall  have  no  claim  or  demand  against  the  owner  for  said  unpaid 
balance  or  by  reason  of  the  non-payment  thereof  ;  and  the  said  owner, 
and  all  persons  employed  by  him  to  complete  the  said  contract,  shall 
have  the  use  of  all  fixed  tackle  of  any  kind  belonging  to,  or  used  by, 
the  said  contractor  prior  to  said  default  on  his  part,  free  of  charge, 
and  until  the  said  contract  has  been  fully  performed  and  completed. 

ELEVENTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  the  said 
or  his  successor  or  successors,  may  condemn  any  materials  furnished, 
and  reject  any  work  performed  under  this  contract,  and  require  the 
same  to  be  taken  up  and  removed  from  the  premises  by,  and  at  the 
expense  of,  the  said  contractor  ;  and  that  said  and  his  suc- 

cessor or  successors,  may  also  direct  the  time  of  doing  the  several 
portions  of  work  called  for  by  the  contract. 

TWELFTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  no  certificate  given 
or  payment  made  under  this  contract  shall  operate  as,  or  be  held  to 
be,  an  admission  on  the  part  of  the  owner  that  this  contract,  or  any 
part  thereof,  has  been  complied  with,  or  that  any  detail  of  the  work 
has  been  properly  performed,  or  that  the  materials  furnished  are  of 
the  quality  called  for  by  the  specifications,  in  case  the  fact  shall  be 
otherwise  ;  nor  shall  any  such  certificate  or  payment  stop  or  preclude 
the  said  owner  from  claiming  damages  against  the  said  contractor, 
should  the  work  and  materials  hereby  required  not  be  performed  and 
furnished  in  every  particular  in  a  substantial  and  workmanlike  manner, 
and  in  strict  fulfilment  and  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  this 
contract  and  said  drawings  and  specifications. 

THIRTEENTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  he  will  bear  and 


208    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

be  liable  for  all  loss  or  damage  that  may  happen  to  the  said  materials 
by  fire,  storms,  or  otherwise,  prior  to  the  time  they  have  been  actually 
used  and  entered  into  the  construction  of  said  grounds,  and  that  he  will 
repair  all  damage  and  injury  to  said  work  and  materials  occasioned 
other  than  by  fire,  storms,  or  otherwise,  during  the  performance  of  this 
contract  and  prior  to  the  completion  and  acceptance  of  the  same,  and 
without  extra  charge. 

FOURTEENTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  to  indemnify  and  save 
harmless  the  said  owner  from  all  and  every  claim  of  damage  or  injury 
to  person  or  property  occasioned  by  his  negligence,  carelessness,  or 
want  of  skill,  or  that  of  his  servants  or  employees,  or  that  of  his  sub- 
contractors  or  their  employees,  while  engaged  in  the  performance  of 
the  said  work,  or  otherwise  ;  and  further  agrees  to  indemnify  and  save 
harmless  the  said  owner  from  every  claim  and  demand  for  the  violation 
by  him,  his  servants,  or  sub-contractors  and  their  servants,  of  any 
statute  or  municipal  ordinance  regulating  or  relating  to  the  work 
called  for  by  this  contract. 

FIFTEENTH  :  The  contractor  further  agrees  that  in  case  the  said 
shall  die,  resign,  be  removed,  or  refuse  to  act,  then  the  said 
owner  may  appoint  a  successor  or  successors,  and  such  successor  or 
successors  shall  have  like  power  and  perform  like  duties  as  are  con- 
ferred and  imposed  upon  by  the  said  by  this  contract. 

SIXTEENTH  :  The  owner  agrees  to  pay  to  the  contractor  for  per- 
forming said  work  and  furnishing  and  supplying  said  materials  as 
aforesaid  the  sum  of  dollars  in  instalments,  as  the  performance 

of  this  contract  progresses,  and  as  follows  :  On  the  twenty-fifth  day 
of  each  and  every  month  the  contractor  shall  furnish  to  the  landscape 
architect,  or  his  successor  or  successors,  a  statement  of  the  work  done 
and  the  materials  furnished  during  the  thirty  days  next  preceding,  and 
thereupon  the  landscape  architect,  or  his  successor  or  successors,  shall 
verify  said  statement  and  furnish  to  the  contractor  a  certificate  in 
writing,  signed  by  him,  of  the  value  of  the  work  done  and  materials 
furnished  and  supplied  and  actually  used  and  applied  in  the  construc- 
tion of  said  building  during  said  preceding  thirty  days  ;  and  upon  the 
presentation  of  the  said  landscape  architect's  certificate  the  said 
owner  will  pay  to  the  contractor  85  per  cent,  of  the  amount  so  certi- 
fied by  the  landscape  architect,  and  will  make  such  payment  within 
ten  days  after  the  presentation  of  such  certificate  as  aforesaid.  When 
the  last  instalment  shall  be  certified,  the  aggregate  of  the  15  per  cent. 


CONTRACTS  AND  SPECIFICATIONS      209 

deducted  from  the  prior  instalments,  and  the  amount  of  the  said 
instalment,  with  such  additions,  shall  be  paid  to  the  said  contractor  by 
the  said  owner  when,  and  not  before,  the  said  contractor  has  complied 
with  the  conditions  in  the  next  sucgeeding  paragraph  of  this  contract. 

SEVENTEENTH  :  The  contractor  agrees  that  he  shall  not  be  entitled 
to  demand,  receive,  sue  for,  or  collect  the  amount  of  said  last  instal- 
ment, or  any  part  thereof,  until  he  has  presented  to  the  said  owner  the 
certificate  in  writing,  signed  by  the  said  ,  his  successor  or 

successors,  to  the  effect  that  this  contract  has  been  fully  completed 
and  performed,  and  also  the  certificate  of  the  county  clerk  of  the 
county  of  ,  that  no  mechanics'  or  other  liens  are  of  record 

upon  said  construction,  for  work  done  or  materials  furnished  by  any 
person  or  persons  for,  or  on  behalf  of,  said  contractor  or  any  sub-con- 
tractor, or  his  or  their  employees,  and  also  only  upon  evidence  being 
furnished  by  the  contractor  satisfactory  to  the  owner,  that  no  claim 
or  demand  exists  in  favor  of  any  person  or  persons  for  work  done  or 
materials  furnished  or  supplied  in  the  performance  of  this  contract. 

EIGHTEENTH  :  It  is  further  mutually  agreed  between  the  contractor 
and  owner  that,  should  any  dispute  or  question  arise  respecting  the 
true  construction  or  meaning  of  the  drawings  or  specifications,  the 
same  shall  be  decided  by  ,  his  successor  or  successors,  and 

his  or  their  decision  shall  be  binding  and  conclusive.  But  should  any 
dispute  arise  respecting  the  cost  of  any  change,  alteration,  deviation, 
or  addition  with  respect  to  the  work  to  be  done  and  the  materials  to 
be  furnished  under  this  contract,  the  same  shall  be  submitted  to  two 
arbitrators,  one  to  be  chosen  by  the  contractor  and  the  other  by  the 
owner,  whose  decision,  if  they  agree,  shall  be  final  and  conclusive,  and 
who,  in  case  they  cannot  agree,  shall  have  the  power  to  choose  a  third 
arbitrator,  and  the  decision  of  the  three  arbitrators,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  shall  be  binding  and  conclusive  upon  the  said  owner  and  the  said 
contractor. 

NINETEENTH  :  It  is  further  mutually  agreed  between  the  owner  and 
contractor  that  the  owner  shall  not  in  any  manner  be  answerable  for 
any  loss  or  damage  that  shall  or  may  happen  to  the  work  done,  or 
materials  furnished  under  this  contract  during  the  performance 
thereof,  or  for  any  loss  or  damage  that  may  at  any  time  happen  to 
the  materials,  tools,  and  appliances  used  and  employed  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  work  called  for  by  this  contract. 

TWENTIETH  :  It  is  further  mutually  understood  and  agreed  between 

14 


210    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

the  owner  and  the  contractor  that  the  contractor  shall  have  the  right 
to  make  sub-contracts,  but  only  with  such  person  or  persons,  corpora- 
tion or  corporations,  as  shall  have  been  first  approved  in  writing, 
signed  by  the  owner,  and  that  the  contractor  shall  not  assign  this 
contract  or  any  interest  therein  without  the  consent  of  the  owner  in 
writing  shall  have  been  first  had  and  obtained,  it  being  understood 
and  agreed  that  this  contract  is  for  the  personal  service  and  skill  of 
the  said  contractor,  and  that  if  such  contractor  shall  make  any  such 
assignment  without  such  consent,  then,  at  the  option  of  the  owner, 
this  contract  shall  cease,  determine,  and  be  null  and  void. 

TWENTY-FIRST  :  This  contract  shall  bind  and  inure  to  the  benefit  of 
the  owner,  his  successor  or  successors,  and,  the  contractor,  his  heirs, 
executors,  acd  administrators. 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF  the  contractor  and  owner  have  caused  these 
presents  to  be  duly  executed  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

,  Owner. 
,  Contractor. 

CONTRACT  WITH  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT 

This  agreement  between  ,  landscape  architect, 

and  ,  owner,  entered  into  this        day  of 

WITNESSETH,  That  the  said  is  to  draw  plans  and 

specifications  of  grounds  to  be  laid  out  for  the  said 
at  .    The  drawings  are  to  be  complete  and  to  include 

to  scale  inches  to  foot,  together  with  all  other  necessary  and 

proper  papers  and  drawings,  four  copies  of  each,  before 
189  ,  and  before  taking  estimates,  in  order  that  each  one  estimating 
may  know  what  will  be  required.     The  said  plans  and  drawings  are  to 
be  the  property  of  the  said  ,  owner. 

Said  landscape  architect  is  further  to  give  supervision  to  the  work 
throughout  its  progress,  to  visit  the  premises  at  least  once  every  week 
and  carefully  inspect  every  portion  of  the  grounds.  He  is  to  carefully 
inspect  and  test  all  material  and  finished  work,  and  to  protect  the 
interests  of  the  owner  in  every  way. 

In  consideration  for  which  service  the  said  is  to  pay 

the  said  ,  on  the  completion  of  the  drawings,  plans, 

specifications,  etc.,  the  sum  of  dollars,  and  the  further  sum 

of  per  cent,  on  the  money  due  and  payable  to  various  con- 


DESCRIPTIONS  OF  DRAWINGS          211 

tractors  under  their  contracts,  said  percentage  to  be  payable  at  the 
time  payments  under  said  contracts  are  by  their  terms  due  and  pay- 
able. 

Witness  our  hand  and  seals  this  day  of  ,  in  the 

city  of 

(Signed)  (L.  s.). 

(L.  s.). 

SPECIFICATION  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  MATERIALS  TO  BE  FUR- 
NISHED  AND  WORK  TO  BE  DONE  IN  LAYING  OUT  AND 
CONSTRUCTING  THE  ROADS,  PATHS,  LAWNS,  PLANTING, 
ETC.,  FOR  THE  GROUNDS  PERTAINING  TO  THE  RESIDENCE 
OF  MR.  AT 

All  work  to  be  done  in  conformity  with  the  plans,  details,  and  other 
drawings  and  with  these  specifications,  prepared  by  , 

duly  employed  by  Mr.  as  inspector  to  take  charge  of 

the  work. 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  DRAWINGS 

The  drawing  referred  to  in  these  specifications  will  be  as  follows : 

(1)  General  contour  plan  of  property. 

(2)  General  plan  showing  location  of  house,  roads,  paths,  steps, 
terraces,  planting,  etc.,  giving  the  various  levels  of  same. 

(3)  Drainage  map. 

(4)  Detail  drawing  of  various  parts. 

(5)  Cross  sections  through  various  parts,  as  indicated  on  plan. 

(6)  Planting  map. 

The  work  must  be  done  in  accordance  with  the  above  plans  and  de- 
tails, explanatory  thereof,  and  such  directions  and  additional  detail 
drawings  as  may  be  given  during  the  progress  of  the  work,  of 
and  inspector  duly  appointed  by  him. 

In  no  case  shall  the  contractor  measure  any  scale  drawing ;  in  every 
case  where  figures  are  not  already  given  on  the  drawing,  he  is  to  ob- 
tain the  same  from  the  inspector. 

STAKING  OUT 

The  contractor  must  employ  a  competent  surveyor  to  locate  and 
properly  stake  out  the  entire  work  as  shown  on  drawings.  All  grades 
and  levels  of  finished  earth,  paths,  roads,  etc.,  must  be  properly  marked 


212  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

and  otherwise  indicated  by  stakes.  The  contractor  will  be  held  re- 
sponsible and  must  make  good  all  damage  caused  by  improper  grades. 
The  contractor  will  notify  the  inspector  when  this  staking  out  has  been 
done  and  will  make  such  changes  in  same  as  may  be  required  or  sug- 
gested by  him. 

DRIVEWAY 

PREPARATION  OF   ROAD-BED 

The  subsoil  or  other  matter  (be  it  earth,  boulders,  tree-stumps,  etc.) 
shall  be  excavated  and  removed  to  such  depth  as  that,  when  the  sur- 
face is  thoroughly  compacted  by  ramming  and  rolling,  it  shall  be  left 
inches  below  the  finished  grade. 

Should  there  be  any  spongy  material  in  the  bed  thus  prepared,  all 
such  material  shall  be  removed,  and  the  space  filled  with  clean  gravel 
or  sand,  and  carefully  rammed,  so  as  to  make  all  filling  compact  and 
solid. 

Filling,  if  required,  shall  be  composed  of  good,  wholesome  earth,  taken 
from  the  adjoining  banks,  or  from  where  directed,  and  placed  upon  the 
road-bed  in  layers,  of  not  more  than  six  (6)  inches  in  depth,  and  thor- 
oughly rolled  and  rammed.  The  embankment  shall  be  maintained  at 
its  designated  grade  until  finally  accepted  and  no  allowance  will  be 
made  to  the  contractor  for  shrinkage  or  settlement. 

Wherever  it  shall  be  deemed  necessary  the  exterior  of  the  filling 
shall  consist  of  a  stone  wall  as  per  drawing,  along  the  sides  of  the  road, 
as  shall  be  directed. 

FOUNDATION  OF  ROAD 

After  the  road-bed  is  properly  prepared,  sound,  durable  quarry-stones, 
about  6  inches  in  depth,  3  to  6  inches  in  width,  and  8  to  12  inches  in 
length,  shall  be  laid  by  hand  in  form  of  a  close,  firm  pavement,  and  the 
various  sizes  properly  distributed.  They  shall  be  set  on  their  broadest 
edges,  without  underpinning.  The  interstices  are  then  to  be  filled  with 
pieces  of  stone  and  set  with  hammers  in  such  a  manner  that  the  foun- 
dation shall  have  an  average  depth  of  6  inches. 

MACADAMIZING 

Upon  this  foundation  a  3-inch  thick  layer  of  broken  stone,  li  to  2 
inches  in  diameter,  is  to  be  spread  and  thoroughly  rolled,  free  from 
clay  or  earth. 


FINISHING  213 


FINISHING 

Screenings  of  broken  stone  about  1  inch  in  depth  are  then  to  be  ap- 
plied and  well  saturated  with  water,  and  thoroughly  and  repeatedly 
rolled,  while  wet,  until  a  wave  is  formed  in  front  of  the  roller. 

Should  the  owner  or  owners  desire  to  use  gravel  in  place  of  broken 
stone  and  screenings,  the  contractor  is  required  to  submit  samples  of 
same  to  be  used  in  place  thereof. 

The  widths  of  the  road  or  roads  to  be  as  follows  : 

The  gutters  to  be  built  either  of  cobblestones,  or  pressed  composi- 
tion blocks,  or  of  sod,  or  as  otherwise  directed,  as  shown  in  section. 
If  cobblestones  or  composition  blocks  are  used,  the  same  to  be  laid 
on  a  stone  foundation  (the  extension  of  the  road  width),  as  prescribed 
before,  and  bedded  in  a  sand  cushion. 

Provisions  for  surface  drainage  to  be  made  as  shall  be  directed,  while 
the  work  is  progressing,  either  by  building  stone  culverts  or  laying  vit- 
rified earthenware  pipes,  and  setting  catch-basins. 

Contractors  are  required  to  bid  on  each  item  separately. 

The  quantities  herein  stated  are  approximate  only. 

The  contractors  will  be  paid  for  quantities  of  work  actually  done. 

Engineers'  estimates  of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  by  which  the  bids 
will  be  tested,  are  as  follows  : 

1 square  yards  of  broken  stone  foundation,  as  specified 

before,  with  3-inch  broken  stones  and  1-inch  screenings  on 
top,  per  square  yard,  the  sum  of $ 

2 cubic  yards  of  earth  excavation  : 

per  cubic  yard,  sum  of $ 

3 cubic  yards  of  extra  earth,  filling  in  excess  of  excava- 
tion : 
per  cubic  yard,  the  sum  of $ 

4 lineal  feet  of         inch  pipe,  including  laying  : 

per  lineal  foot,  the  sum  of $ 

5 lineal  feet  of        inch  drain  pipe,  including  laying  : 

per  lineal  foot,  the  sum  of $ 

6      lineal  feet  of        inch  drain  pipe,  including  laying  : 

per  lineal  foot,  the  sum  of $ 

7 lineal  feet  of        inch  stone  culvert : 

per  lineal  foot,  the  sum  of $ 


214   HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

8 cubic  yards  of  rustic  retaining  walls  : 

per  cubic  yard,  the  sum  of $ 

9     cubic  yards  of  rock  excavation  : 

per  cubic  yard,  the  sum  of $ 

10 catch-basins  : 

For  1,  the  sum  of $ 

About  $20  (as  per  drawing). 
Payments  will  be  made  as  follows : 

Twenty  per  cent,  of  contract  price,  when  road-bed  is  prepared 
to  receive  road  material,  and  drainage  of  road  provided  for. 
Sixty  per  cent,  of  contract  price,  when  road  is  finished. 
Twenty  per  cent,  of  contract  price,  3  months  after  road  is 
finished  and  accepted. 

11.  The  entire  work  to  be  done  during  working  days. 

12.  The  work  to  commence  within  one  week  after  the  signing  of 

contract. 

The  parties  of  the  first  part  shall  have  the  right  to  increase  or 
diminish  the  quantities  of  the  several  items  called  for. 

SPECIFICATIONS  FOR  PATHS 

PREPARATION   OF  PATH-BED 

The  path-beds  shall  be  prepared  in  the  manner  specified  for  road- 
beds, and  when  finished  shall  be  left  inches  below  the  finished  grade. 

FOUNDATION  OF  PATH 

After  path-bed  is  properly  prepared,  a  -inch  thick  layer  of  rubble, 
or  broken  stone,  inches  in  diameter,  is  to  be  spread  and  thoroughly 
rolled,  free  from  clay  or  earth.  Upon  this  foundation  a  -inch  thick 
layer  of  broken  stone,  or  gravel,  inch  in  diameter,  is  to  be  spread 
and  thoroughly  rolled,  free  from  clay  or  earth. 

FINISHING 

Screenings  f  inch  in  depth  of  broken  stone,  or  as  otherwise  specified, 
are  then  to  be  applied,  well  saturated  with  water,  thoroughly  and 
repeatedly  rolled  while  wet  until  a  wave  is  formed  in  front  of  the 
roller. 


EXCAVATION,  FILLING,  AND  SHAPING  215 


DRAINAGE 

Provisions  for  surface  drainage  to  be  made  as  shall  be  directed, 
while  the  work  is  progressing,  either  by  building  stone  culverts  or 
laying  vitrified  earthenware  pipes,  and  setting  catch-basins. 

SPECIFICATION  FOR  DRAINAGE,  ETC. 

Provisions  for  drainage  and  laying  water-pipes,  etc.  (apart  from  the 
drainage  specified  for  roads  and  paths),  to  be  made  according  to  the 
lines,  depths,  etc.,  shown  on  drainage  map,  or  as  shall  be  directed 
while  the  work  is  progressing. 

SPECIFICATION  FOR  PREPARING  GROUND  FOR  SODDING  OR 
SOWING  AND  PLANTING 

GRUBBING  AND  CLEARING 

From  such  portions  of  the  grounds  as  may  be  directed  all  trees, 
saplings,  bushes,  stumps,  and  roots  (except  such  as  inspector 
directs  to  be  saved)  shall  be  cut  and  thoroughly  grubbed  up,  and 
together  with  logs,  brush,  and  wood  of  every  description  be  removed 
from  the  grounds  and  disposed  of  by  the  said  contractor.  No  pay- 
ment will  be  allowed  for  this  work  of  clearing  and  grubbing,  it  being 
considered  as  included  in  the  price  to  be  paid  for  excavation. 

EXCAVATION,  FILLING,  AND  SHAPING 

At  such  portions  of  the  grounds,  and  for  such  widths  and  depths  as 
may  be  directed,  the  soil  shall  be  excavated,  and  either  spread  over 
the  ground  at  such  places,  and  in  such  depth  and  to  such  lines  and 
slopes  as  may  be  directed,  or  placed  in  piles  of  such  dimensions  and  at 
such  localities  as  may  be  directed,  and  to  give  not  exceeding  feet 
haul  for  said  material.  These  piles  to  be  of  regular  shape  with  well- 
made  faces.  Said  soil  to  be  and  remain  the  property  of  Mr. 
The  price  for  excavation  of  earth  per  cubic  yard  to  be  in  full  for  the 
excavation,  removal,  spreading  or  piling  of  said  soil.  If  so  directed, 
during  the  progress  of  the  work,  such  soil  so  piled  shall  be  again 
removed  and  spread  over  the  slopes  or  other  portions  of  the  work  at 


216    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

such  places  and  in  such  depth  as  may  be  directed,  but  to  give  not  ex- 
ceeding feet  haul.  For  this  second  movement  of  soil  the  price  for 
excavation  of  earth  will  be  paid,  and  will  be  in  full  for  the  re-excava- 
tion, removal,  placing,  and  spreading  said  soil. 

Where  the  present  surface  is  above  the  required  sub-grades,  the 
material,  be  it  solid  or  loose  rock  or  earth,  is  to  be  excavated  to  con- 
form to  the  required  grades,  sub-grades,  lines,  and  slopes,  and  other 
prescribed  lines  designed  on  the  ground  by  the  inspector,  and  the 
material  shall  be  removed  and  deposited  as  filling  at  such  points  as 
shall  be  directed  by  the  inspector,  or  otherwise  disposed  of  as  here- 
after specified. 

The  materials  excavated  shall  be  removed  and  deposited,  as  shall  in 
each  case  be  directed,  at  the  points  at  which  it  may  be  required  for 
embankment  or  filling,  or  other  purposes,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  these  specifications.  Such  materials  excavated,  unfit,  or 
not  used  for  filling,  shall  be  removed  from  the  work  and  deposited  on 
the  grounds  or  elsewhere  when  required,  and  in  the  manner  directed 
by  the  inspector. 

The  price  for  grubbing,  excavation,  filling,  and  shaping  of  grounds 
outside  of  roadways,  paths,  etc.,  must  be  given  in  a  lump  sum. 

ROCK  EXCAVATION 

Where  rock  occurs  it  shall  be  excavated  to  conform  to  the  required 
grade,  slopes,  or  other  prescribed  lines. 

The  excavation  of  solid  rock,  and  of  boulders  or  detached  rock 
measuring  one  cubic  yard  or  more  each,  will  be  classed  as  excavation 
of  rock.  No  soft  or  disintegrated  rock  that  could  be  properly 
removed  with  a  pick  will  be  allowed  for  as  rock.  The  excavated  rock 
shall  be  removed  and  deposited,  as  shall  in  each  case  be  directed,  at 
the  points  at  which  it  shall  be  required  for  its  use,  as  herein  specified. 

The  material  excavated  shall  be  removed  and  deposited,  as  shall  in 
each  case  be  directed,  at  the  points  at  which  it  may  be  required  for 
embankments  or  other  purposes,  and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of  these  specifications,  and  any  surplus  not  so  used  shall  be  removed 
from  the  work  and  disposed  of  by  the  contractor  as  herein  above 
specified. 

In  all  cases  of  rock  blasting  the  blast  shall  be  carefully  covered 
with  heavy  timbers,  chained  together,  according  to  the  ordinance  of 


MOLD  OR   TOP  SOIL  217 

the  relative  to  rock  blasting,  and  every  precaution  taken 

to  insure  the  safety  of  all  persons.  The  contractor  will  be  required 
to  carefully  observe  and  conform  to  all  the  ordinances  and  regulations 
of  the  State  of  now  in  force,  or  that  may  be  in  force  during 

the  progress  of  the  work,  in  relation  to  the  storage  and  handling  of 
explosives  in  the  streets  and  avenues  of  the  city  or  town  of 

The  price  for  excavation  of  rock  will  include  the  excavation, 
removal,  and  final  disposition  of  the  material  in  accordance  with  these 
specifications. 

FILLING  OR  EMBANKMENT 

The  filling  or  embankment  is  to  be  made  in  accordance  with  the 
lines,  slopes,  grades,  and  dimensions  shown  upon  the  plans,  and  as 
shall,  from  time  to  time,  during  the  progress  of  the  work,  be  directed 
by  the  inspector. 

No  rock  filling  will  be  allowed  within  one  foot  of  the  finished  grades 
of  the  roadway  and  walks,  nor  in  such  parts  of  the  filling  or  embank- 
ment as  will  interfere  with  trenches  or  pits  to  be  afterward  excavated 
for  basins  or  pipes. 

No  rock  filling  will  be  allowed  in  the  embankment  or  filling  of  the 
grounds,  or  of  the  slopes  exterior  to  lines  of  the  roadway  and  walks 
within  feet  of  the  finished  surface  of  the  grounds. 

Where  the  filling  is  required  to  be  two  feet  and  over  in  depth,  if 
directed  by  the  inspector,  it  shall  be  deposited  in  regular  horizontal 
layers  of  not  more  than  two  feet  in  thickness,  and  shal}  be  carted  over 
and  rammed. 

The  materials  for  the  embankment  are  to  be  obtained  from  the 
excavation  of  the  ground  and  walks  above  the  required  lines,  grades, 
and  sub-grades.  Any  deficiency  of  the  earth  for  the  embankment 
shall  be  furnished  by  the  contractor  from  sources  exterior  to  the 
grounds  of  the  park  at  his  own  cost  and  expense,  compensation  for 
the  same  to  be  included  in  the  price  to  be  paid  for  rock  excavation. 

All  earth  filling  furnished  shall  be  of  good,  wholesome  earth,  free 
from  garbage,  vegetable,  or  other  unsuitable  matter. 

MOLD  OR  TOP  SOIL 

After  the  area  of  the  ground,  outside  the  lines  of  the  roadway, 
walks,  structures,  etc.,  has  been  properly  regulated  and  graded  to  the 


218    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

satisfaction  of  the  inspector,  the  same  is  to  be  covered  with  a  layer 
of  mold  or  top  soil  of  such  depth  as  will  bring  the  top  surface  of 
the  same  up  to  the  finished  lines  as  shown  upon  the  plan,  the  depth 
of  which  will  be  from  to  inches,  with  a  sufficient 

allowance  for  settlement,  and  shall  be  evenly  spread  and  leveled  to 
such  surface  as  the  said  inspector  shall  direct. 

The  mold  shall  be  of  first  quality  garden  mold  or  fertile  loam,  free 
from  stones,  roots,  and  all  other  extraneous  materials,  and  the  quality 
of  the  same  be  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  inspector. 

SPECIFICATION  FOR  PLANTING 

The  holes  for  trees  and  shrubs  to  be  dug  sufficiently  wide  to  give 
foot  of  space  between  the  roots  spread  out  and  the  side 
of  the  holes,  and  sufficiently  deep  to  permit  the  tree  or  shrub  to  stand 
at  the  depth  in  the  ground  that  it  stood  in  the  place  from  which  it 
was  last  taken.  The  bottom  of  the  hole  must  be  thoroughly  loosened 
with  the  spade  before  it  receives  the  tree  or  shrub, 

SPECIFICATION  FOR  SEED  SOWING 

The  grass  seeds  must  be  the  cleanest  that  the  market  will  afford, 
and  consist  principally  of  Kentucky  Blue  Grass  and  Red  Top.  They 
must  be  sown  at  the  rate  of  six  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  sowing 
must  be  done  in  calm  weather,  so  as  to  spread  it  evenly,  and  when 
sown  it  must  be  carefully  raked  with  a  steel  rake,  and  rolled  with  a 
heavy  iron  roller  drawn  by  two  horses. 


PART  II 


PARKS  AND  PARKWAYS 

IN  considering  the  general  principles  that  should 
underlie  the  arrangement  of  home  grounds,  we  are 
not  surprised  to  find  that  we  are  covering  at  the 
same  time  the  whole  theory  of  the  design  of  parks  and 
parkways,  for  when  we  reduce  to  first  principles  our 
several  schemes  of  arranging  home  grounds  and  parks, 
we  shall  find  that  we  are  only,  in  the  one  case,  contriv- 
ing pleasure  and  comfort  and  good  sanitary  conditions 
for  the  few,  and  in  the  other,  provided  we  have  substan- 
tially the  same  general  conditions  of  soil  and  topography, 
for  the  many.  Instead  of  one  lawn  on  the  village  lot, 
we  have  a  series  of  lawns  in  the  public  park,  but  the 
principles  of  arrangement  are  actually  the  same  in  both 
places.  There  are,  for  instance,  in  both  places  open 
lawns,  bordered  and  framed  by  plantations  of  shrubs, 
trees  and  herbaceous  plants,  with  as  few  buildings  as 
will  furnish  the  necessary  solace  and  pleasure  for  the 
occupants  alike  of  home  grounds  and  parks,  and  with 
these  should  always  be  combined  a  reasonable  amount 
of  seclusion.  The  same  adjustment  of  the  lawns  and 
plantations  of  the  home  grounds  will  also  make  the 
largest  park,  multiplied  though  it  be  in  size  a  hundred 
times. 


220    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

Of  roads  and  paths  we  have  already  said  that  they 
were  necessary,  but  not  in  themselves  interesting,  being 
simply  incidents  of  connection  between  different  parts  of 
both  home  grounds  and  public  parks,  and,  indeed,  we 


RURAL  PARK  OP  MODERATE    DIMENSIONS  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN 

must  allow  that  they  have  no  reason  for  being,  except  as 
a  plain,  practical  means  to  an  end.  They  should  approach 
and  pass  all  the  characteristic  features  of  the  landscape, 
in  ways  that  will  present  the  most  attractive  and  beau- 


PARKS  AND  PARKWAYS  221 

tiful  views  possible,  but  they  themselves  should  have 
massed  at  their  junctions,  and  various  other  points, 
trees  and  shrubs,  to  modify  the  objectionable  influence  of 
their  uninteresting  surface.  You  may  have  woodlands, 
rocky  rambles,  and  straightway  lines  of  paths  and  roads, 
but  the  ultimate  analysis  of  all  grouping  or  arrange- 
ments of  this  kind  for  all  landscape  purposes,  is  the  lawn 
and  framing  trees  and  shrubs,  the  necessary  buildings, 
paths  and  roads  being  subordinated  and  kept  as  much 
as  possible  out  of  evidence.  This  helps  reduce  the  prob- 
lem of  park  treatment  to  very  simple  terms,  which  will 
be  found  to  be  sensible  and  sound  when  they  have  been 
duly  considered. 

In  contemplating  the  different  objects  that  naturally 
associate  themselves  in  a  public  park,  we  find  that  chief 
among  them  are  included  peace,  rest,  the  means  of 
seclusion,  also  the  suggestion  of  the  best  kind  of  land- 
scape and  of  country  sights  and  sounds,  trees,  grass, 
birds,  flowers,  open  meadows  for  games  for  men  and 
boys  and  little  children,  and  buildings  for  music,  eat- 
ing, drinking,  and  all  sorts  of  social  intercourse.  All  of 
these  features  are,  within  certain  limits,  equally  desir- 
able on  home  grounds  of  small  as  well  as  large  dimen- 
sions. A  park,  therefore,  is  evidently  nothing  more 
in  its  essential  character  than  a  great  country  place 
where  hundreds  and  thousands  may  cheerfully  resort 
for  the  joy  of  open-air  life,  for  games,  and,  in  secluded 
places,  for  the  rest  and  peace  of  something  like  sylvan 
solitude. 

These  conditions  should  never  be  forgotten  by  those 
who  are  seeking  to  secure  parks,  small  or  large,  for 
town  or  city.  It  should  be,  above  all  things,  the  undi- 
vided aim  of  every  one  who  may  undertake  the  duty  of 


222     HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

constructing  parks  for  the  public,  in  the  smallest  coun- 
try towns  as  well  as  in  large  cities,  to  always  strive  to 
suggest  the  country  and  a  country  landscape,  and  to 
give  opportunity  for  out-door  sports. 

The  author  does  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  intend- 
ing, in  any  way,  to  underrate  the  skill  necessary  to  prop- 


DESIGN    FOE    BAND    STAND    IN    PUBLIC    PARK 

erly  work  out  the  scheme  of  a  park,  nor  does  he,  as 
will  be  seen  when  we  consider  what  it  means  to  perform 
the  delicate  operation  of  modeling  a  lawn  on  lines  sug- 
gested by  the  original  contours,  and  to  plant  natural- 
looking  groups  on  the  outskirts  and  framework  of  the 
place,  and  about  the  junction  of  the  roads  and  paths. 
If  we  are  able  to  always  keep  close  to  these  suggestions 
of  country  which  should  be  intimately  associated  with 


PARKS  AND  PARKWAYS  223 

parks,  we  will  find  that  we  will,  in  that  way,  shut  out  all 
bizarre  masses  of  imperfectly  related,  inharmonious 
beds  of  plants,  all  detached  and  unmasked  flower-gar- 
dens, and  bar  out,  successfully,  all  advertising  schemes, 
side-shows,  race-courses,  military  displays,  and  betting 
resorts,  to  the  end  that  all  people  may  absorb,  undis- 
turbed, the  peace  and  rest  and  healthful  enjoyment  that 
these  park  suggestions  of  country  life  afford. 

Amid  such  scenes  child-life  expands  like  a  flower,  and 
its  innocent  games  and  happiness  go  on  unrestrained  by 
the  fear  and  unrest  and  constraint  that  must  necessarily 
exist  in  all  town  and  city  streets,  which  make  the  usual 
play-grounds  for  many  children.  Every  device  in  the  way 
of  summer-houses,  arbors,  and  seats,  and,  above  all,  of 
police  guardianship,  should  be  secured,  in  order  to  make 
the  seeming  country  landscape  readily  and  comfortably 
available  for  all.  Each  person,  young  and  old,  should 
have  the  greatest  liberty  to  enjoy  himself  in  a  park  that 
is  compatible  with  the  enjoyment  of  neighbors.  This 
somewhat  trite  aphorism  does  undoubtedly  apply  with 
force  to  the  life  and  actions  of  all  citizens,  but  to  none 
does  it  apply  with  greater  force  than  to  thos,e  who  oc- 
cupy our  parks. 

In  building  a  park,  as  in  building  a  country  place,  the 
truly  sympathetic  and  artistic  designer  will  seek  to  enter 
into  the  spirit  of  the  natural  advantages  of  the  region, 
and  to  loyally  stand  by  them,  never  faltering  in  his  de- 
termination to  resist,  as  far  as  lies  in  his  power,  all 
mistaken  attempts  to  make  improvements  that  are  really 
injuries  to  its  characteristic  and  native  charm. 

This  will  mean  to  retain,  in  fact,  as  far  as  can  be 
made  to  appear  reasonable,  all  masses  of  woodlands, 
valleys  and  hills,  and  pools,  and  streams  of  water,  so 


224    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

that  they  will  be  neither  cut  down  or  filled  up,  except 
for  the  introduction  of  such  evidently  necessary  features 
as  roads  and  buildings  that  cannot  be  avoided.  Rather  is 
it  wise  to  turn  the  attention  to  enriching  and  perfecting 
the  beauties  already  evident,  by  planting,  fertilizing,  and 
cultivating  on  the  simple  lines  indicated  by  existing  con- 
ditions, and,  in  addition,  by  taking  care  to  always  relegate 
such  evidently  artificial-looking  designs  as  flower-gar- 
dens and  colored  foliage-beds  to  entire  seclusion  behind 
walls  or  hedges. 

The  constant  endeavor,  in  a  word,  should  be  to  help 
Nature,  and  give  her  free  and  unrestrained  license  to 
develop  her  native  charms  as  far  as  the  circumstances 
and  comfort  of  the  human  element  will  permit.  There 
should  be  no  attempt  to  deceive  with  meretricious  rock- 
work,  for  example,  but  everywhere  should  appear  con- 
tinual suggestions  of  country. 

These  remarks  should  be  made  to  apply  to  parkways, 
as  well  as  parks,  for  there  is  nothing  in  a  park  that  is 
essentially  different  from  a  parkway,  the  latter  being 
simply  a  high  road  connecting  two  parks,  and  bordered 
by  relatively  narrow  strips  of  land  on  either  side, 
treated  as  park  territory. 


CHURCH- YARDS  AND  CEMETERIES 

THE  yards  of  churches,  and  inclosures  known  as 
cemeteries,  that  have  been  set  aside  for  the 
burial  of  the  dead,  seem  to  plead  to  us  for  the 
retention  and  continuance  of  all  things  that  will  make 
for  quiet  dignity  and  peace  and  the  lingering  mainte- 
nance of  tender  memories.  They  seem  to  ask  us,  above 
all,  for  absolute  simplicity  pervading  everything,  so  that 
no  single  jar  may  disturb  that  quiet  and  brooding  of  the 
soul  that  should  dwell,  at  least  for  a  time,  in  the  minds 
of  men  in  the  presence  of  the  burial  ground.  In  such 
places,  in  church-yards  particularly,  we  seem  to  desire 
much  smooth,  soft,  green  sward,  which  rests,  and  un- 
consciously satisfies  the  eye,  so  that  only  a  few  flowers, 
and  those  of  modest  and  unobtrusive  kinds,  are  needed 
in  addition  to  it.  Many  shrubs  dotted  about  will,  we 
feel,  jar  on  that  sense  of  dignity  and  quiet  which  we 
naturally  expect  in  God's  Acre. 

The  trees,  for  trees  there  must  be  for  shade,  and  the 
feeling  of  beneficence  and  protection  they  suggest,  belong 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  church-yard,  or  along  the  road, 
and  in  the  park-like  reservations  of  the  cemetery.  On 
the  boundary  line  of  church-yards  and  cemeteries  may 
come  the  fences  and  walls,  or  it  may  well  be  that  the 
15 


226    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

beauty  of  peace  and  quietness  will  be  better  fostered  by 
the  absence  of  fences,  and  yet  the  fence,  or  wall,  seems 
good  to  have  for  the  purpose  of  barring  out  the  desecrat- 
ing feet  of  indifferent  persons,  or  the  mischief-doing, 
wandering  animals.  If  fences  and  walls  are  used,  they 
may  be  covered  with  thick-growing  vines,  remarkable  for 
their  green  leaves  rather  than  for  flowers,  such  as  the 
English  ivy  on  the  north  side  of  buildings,  and  the  two 
ampelopsises,  namely,  the  Virginia  creeper  and  the 
Japanese  ivy,  also  evergreen  honeysuckle  and  the  akebia 
quinata,  while  the  more  showy  flowering  clematises, 
trumpet-creepers,  wistarias,  and  running  roses  seem 
almost  too  vivid  and  brilliant  in  coloring  for  the  even 
tone  and  quiet  temper  that  we  would  naturally  consider 
native  to  the  region. 

All  trees  are  not  fitted  for  these  retired  spots.  Amer- 
ican and  English  elms  and  most  kinds  of  oaks,  beeches, 
ashes,  and  yews,  and  dark,  Oriental  spruces  and  white 
pines,  but  not  the  weeping  willow,  or  any  weeping  trees, 
because  they  always  seem  to  the  author  to  be  making  a 
travesty  on  melancholy ;  all  the  others  have  a  dignity  and 
restfulness  of  demeanor  that  comport  well  with  all 
proper  church-yard  influences.  In  the  same  way  shrubs, 
of  which  there  are  kinds  suitable  for  the  cemetery, 
should,  in  their  proper  place  along  the  fences,  show 
sober  coloring  with  few  conspicuous  flowers,  and  among 
the  shrubs  suited  for  this  purpose  are  the  horn-beam, 
the  bushy  forms  of  dogwood,  cornus  alba,  and  C.  sericea, 
privets,  spicewood,  lonicera  frangratissima,  philadelphus, 
rhodotypus  kerrioides,  symphoricarpus  vulgaris,  vibur- 
num sieboldii,  viburnum  lantana,  and  viburnum  pyrifolium, 
and  the  white-flowering  dogwood,  cornus  florida. 

All  this  may  seem  to  the  reader  a  little  fanciful,  but 


CHURCH-YARDS  AND  CEMETERIES      227 

when  he  learns  to  approach  the  decoration  of  his  grounds 
as  he  would  the  canvas  of  the  picture — and  are  not  the 
church-yard  and  burial  plot  most  truly  his  grounds? — he 
will  come  to  feel  very  much  as  the  author  does  in  rela- 
tion to  the  use  of  different  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines,  and 
not  smile  indulgently  at  what  he  may  at  first  think  an 
over-refinement  of  sentiment. 

Continuing,  therefore,  the  same  line  of  thought, 
there  are,  for  instance,  no  kinds  of  vines  that  suit  the 
gray  stone  or  red  brick  walls  of  a  church  so  well  as 
the  sober  English  ivy,  and  the  broad,  smooth,  dark- 
green  Japan  ivy,  yet  care  should  be  taken  to  keep  the 
church  from  being  covered  entirely  with  encroaching 
tendrils,  for  half  the  charm  of  the  climber  lies  in  the 
contrast  it  makes  with  the  color  of  the  stone  or  brick 
of  the  building. 

Feeling  thus  profoundly  the  inharmonious  influence  in 
the  church-yard  of  certain  kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and 
above  all  of  showy  flowers  borne  by  herbaceous  or  climb- 
ing plants,  we  would  naturally  fail  to  contemplate  with 
any  degree  of  satisfaction  pretentious,  cumbersome  mon- 
uments in  church-yards  and  cemeteries.  When  hoary 
with  age,  half -falling  or  partially  broken,  they  jar  on 
us  less,  but  no  broken  or  decayed  thing  can  be  really 
restful  or  peaceful  in  its  influence,  any  more  than  the 
mere  expensiveness  of  the  glaringly  ugly  new  monu- 
ment or  tombstone,  that  speaks  of  living  prosperity  in 
its  worst  aspects,  can  give  rise  to  that  peaceful  melan- 
choly so  much  to  be  desired  for  the  associations  that 
should  dwell  about  the  burying-ground.  It  is  fortunate, 
therefore,  that  fashionable  taste  for  tombstones  and 
monuments  of  the  more  vulgar  kind  has  seemed  for  some 
time  to  be  waning,  and  it  is  a  growth  of  the  sentiment 


228    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

that  dislikes  such  things  which  has  induced  many  persons 
to  advocate,  with  success,  the  park  cemetery,  where 
every  effort  is  made  to  do  away  with  huge  or  ornate 
tombstones,  and  particularly  the  so-called  ornamental 
fences  that  are  always  objectionable,  and,  if  possible,  to 
induce  lot-owners  to  build  their  graves  level  with  the 
ground,  keeping  plain  tombstones,  like  those  of  the  colo- 
nial period,  for  record. 

There  is  a  gratifying  improvement  in  this  respect  in 
most  of  the  cemeteries  of  the  country,  and  a  particularly 
gratifying  development  of  the  park  idea,  whereby  large 
areas  of  land  are  set  aside  for  greensward,  trees,  and 
shrubs,  which  can  be  chosen  with  due  respect  to  the 
sober  character  that  should  mark  all  parts  of  the  ceme- 
tery. The  joyous  element  of  children  romping  and  play- 
ing their  games  should  naturally  be  banished ;  but  how 
pleasant  and  grateful,  in  a  quiet,  comforting  way,  these 
park-like  spaces  can  be  made,  many  can  testify  after 
much  walking  on  sad  errands.  Indeed,  our  cemeteries 
are  becoming,  in  much  the  same  way  as  our  parks  and 
home  grounds,  places  of  resort  where  soul  and  body  will 
be  rested  and  refreshed. 


SEASIDE  LAWNS 

THE  theory  of  arrangement  of  seaside  places  need 
not  differ  materially  from  that  of  other  home 
grounds,  except  that,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
sea  should  be  made  visible  from  the  windows  of  every 
living-room  in  the  house ;  and  the  roads,  if  it  be  practi- 
cable, should  arrive  from  the  land  side.  The  main  thing 
to  be  really  studied  is  the  preparation  of  the  soil  and  the 
selection  of  plants  that  should  be  used,  for  not  all  trees 
and  shrubs,  by  any  means,  will  thrive  in  even  secluded 
places  on  the  shore. 

The  chief  difficulty  one  usually  encounters  at  the 
seashore  is  the  poor,  sandy  nature  of  the  soil,  and 
consequently  it  is  generally  necessary  to  bring  strong 
loam  from  a  considerable  distance;  but  whatever  the 
distance,  we  should  bring  the  soil  without  fail,  for  on  it 
depends  the  eventual  success  of  all  plantations,  and  it 
will  be  found  that  a  covering  of  two  feet  of  mold  will 
not  be  unnecessarily  deep  to  secure  satisfactory  results. 

Blue-grass  seed  should  be  sown  in  liberal  quantities  on 
such  soil,  and  plenty  of  sprinkling  applied  at  once,  if  the 
rainfall  should  not  be  abundant.  With  plenty  of  water 
and  a  good  top-dressing  of  mold,  excellent  lawns  can  be 
secured  on  dry,  sandy  beaches.  The  same  rule  naturally 


230    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

extends  to  the  use  of  strong  loam  in  the  holes  where  the 
trees  and  shrubs  are  to  be  planted. 

Concerning  the  choice  of  trees  and  shrubs  for  a  seaside 
lawn,  it  will  prove  better  to  limit  one's  self  to  the  few 
kinds  that  are  well  known  as  having  the  vigor  to  resist 
successfully  the  winds  and  salt  air  of  the  seashore  than 
to  fail  altogether  in  attempting  to  use  too  many  shrubs 
and  most  evergreens,  that  generally  behave  badly  in  such 
regions.  A  few  varieties  of  pines  are  exceptions. 

Among  deciduous  trees,  there  are  several  that  do  well 
on  the  seashore,  and  notable  among  these  we  find  the 
Oriental  plane  tree,  which  is  vigorous,  well  furnished 
with  foliage,  and  suited  to  resist  the  strongest  sea- 
breezes.  In  the  same  class  will  come  the  honey  locust, 
and  the  picturesque  and  always  valuable  wild  cherry, 
cerasus  serotina. 

The  catalpa  has  a  vigorous  habit  that  suits  the  sea- 
shore, and  the  gingko,  salisburia  adiantifolia,  is  also 
hardy  and  enduring  in  similar  localities,  while  the 
rhus  cotinus  and  R.  osbeckii  also  do  well  in  the  salt  air, 
but  two  of  the  most  valuable  trees  of  this  kind  will  be 
found  to  be  the  golden-barked  willow  and  the  laurel- 
leaved  willow.  The  willows  generally  are  valuable  on 
the  seashore,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  hardy 
and  picturesque  native  American  thorns,  crataegus  crus- 
galli,  etc. 

Some  of  the  best  shrubs  for  the  seashore  are  the  pri- 
vets, the  bush  honeysuckles,  lonicera  fragrantissima, 
the  different  kinds  of  philadelphus,  rhamnus  catharticus, 
the  sea  buckthorn,  myrica  cerifera,  the  tamarisks,  the 
elseagnuses,  the  althaeas,  the  hydrangeas,  and  several 
viburnums,  notably  V.  prunifolium  and  V.  opulus. 

There  are  many  herbaceous  plants  that   will   seem 


SEASIDE  LAWNS  231 

almost  indispensable  when  they  are  seen  doing  well  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  sea,  and  the  honeysuckles  and  Vir- 
ginia creepers  we  would  certainly  find  that  we  could 
not  spare.  Some  of  the  best  herbaceous  plants  for  the 
seashore  are  the  coreopsis  lanceolata,  the  eulalia  japon- 
ica,  the  different  kinds  of  sun-flowers,  the  irises,  par- 
ticularly iris  pseudoacoris,  garden  phloxes,  hollyhocks, 
hibiscus  calif ornicus  and  H.  moscheutus,  and  the  marsh- 
mallow,  alva  alcaea,  asclepias  or  milk-weeds,  statice, 
pyrethrum,  or  chrysanthemum  uliginosum,  double  and 
single  silphiums,  and  helenium  autumnale.  These  plants 
constitute  a  collection  of  trees  and  shrubs  and  peren- 
nials that  do  well  at  the  seashore,  and  though  there  are 
others,  there  are  but  a  few  others  that  will  do  nearly  as 
well. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  the  author  will  risk  the 
chance  of  making  himself  wearisome  by  reiterating,  in 
the  most  emphatic  manner,  his  advice  in  regard  to  the 
importance  of  using  abundant  quantities  of  strong,  rich 
loam  on  the  sandy  soil  of  the  seashore,  and  of  applying 
large  amounts  of  water  when  the  rainfall  is  insufficient. 
In  that  way  only  can  successful  lawns  and  plantations  be 
secured  under  the  stress  of  sea-breezes  and  the  difficult 
conditions  of  beach  territory. 

On  rocky  shores  the  problem  remains  much  the  same 
as  on  sandy  shores,  because  disintegrated  rock  is  apt  to 
constitute  a  chief  part  of  the  meager  soil  between  the 
stones,  and  although  such  soil,  especially  if  the  region 
be  more  or  less  wooded,  is  not  likely  to  be  so  poor  and 
unfertile  as  that  of  pure  sand  beaches,  yet  the  bleak 
winds  and  sea-air  make  the  growth  of  trees  and  shrubs 
difficult,  except  by  the  use  of  such  vigorous  species  as 
are  mentioned  in  this  chapter. 


232    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

The  value  of  the  abundant  use  of  water  and  additional 
rich  soil  for  rocky  seashores  cannot  be  overestimated. 
It  is  really  wonderful  to  see  how  much  can  be  accom- 
plished by  diligence  and  skill  in  lawn-planting  on  these 
apparently  barren  beaches  by  careful  culture,  use  of 
water  and  fresh  soil,  and  by  planting  skilfully  just  the 
right  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbaceous  plants.  Unless  the 
attempt  is  made  too  near  the  sea,  or  in  a  specially  bleak 
place,  there  is  more  hope  of  success  here  than  on  most 
pure  sand  beaches. 


CITY  AND  VILLAGE  SQUARES 

A  THOUGH  there  is  a  great  diversity  of  size  and 
appearance  between  the  small  city  square,  or 
triangle,  and  the  great  urban  park,  the  funda- 
mental principles  governing  the  designs  of  each  are  the 
same.     The  larger  and  smaller  spaces  alike  demand  a 
due  consideration  of  the  environment  and  of  the  situa- 
tion.    Failure  in  either  case  lies  in  doing  too  much,  or 
too  little,  and  in  doing  that  which  is  not  appropriate  and 
rational,  and  thus  missing  the  proper  adjustment  of  the 
means  to  the  end. 

Yet  there  are  some  radical  differences  between  city 
squares  and  large  parks.  In  cities,  where  the  only 
places  of  gathering  for  the  crowds  are  in  open  places, 
and  where  the  play-ground  of  children  is  the  street,  it 
becomes  naturally  important  to  reserve  abundant  open 
spaces  of  gravel  or  asphalt  for  seats  for  grown-up 
people,  and  room  for  the  romping  of  little  ones.  If 
there  should  be  more  than  an  acre  in  a  city  square,  there 
may  be  found  room  for  shelter,  music  and  refreshment 
stands,  and  these  structures  should  be  designed  in  the 
simplest,  most  unostentatious  manner  possible,  so  that 
the  square,  or  small  park,  may  retain  its  proper  andorig- 
inal  character  of  a  combination  of  trees,  grass,  and 


234    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

flowers,  to  which  all  architectural  devices  should  be  sub- 
ordinated and  kept  entirely  tributary. 

While  convenience  and  ease  should  always  receive  due 
consideration,  it  must  be  remembered  that  what,  after 
all,  constitutes  the  real  square  is  the  grass  and  shrubs 


SMALL  TRIANGULAR  PARK  IN  CITY  OR  TOWN,  WITH  PLAYGROUND  AND 
WALK.    (CANAL  STREET  PARK,  N.  Y.) 

and  shade  trees,  and  that  without  these  we  cannot  imag- 
ine reasons  for  a  square  being  improved  as  a  park.  It 
may  be  a  promenade,  a  court-yard,  or  a  number  of  other 
things  that  are  pure  architecture,  or  anything  one  pleases, 
but  these  are  surely  not  parks.  That  is  why  we  should 


CITY  AND  VILLAGE  SQUARES          235 

always  bear  in  mind  that  every  building  constructed  in  a 
square  destroys  the  park  value  of  the  space  it  occupies, 
and  detracts  in  just  so  much  from  the  true  esthetic  and 
essential  value  of  the  park.  Therefore,  as  I  have  said  be- 
fore, let  there  be  but  a  few  and  necessary  constructions, 
and  those  of  the  simplest  and  most  rustic  character. 
The  presence  of  surrounding  houses  is  simply  the  environ- 
ment of  the  park,  and  that  environment  is  also,  and  very 
properly,  a  part  of  the  problem  to  be  accepted  and  ac- 
counted for  in  the  design. 

It  is  evident  that  one  would  not  expect  to  find  a  bit  of 
tangled  woodland  glade  amid  the  architectural  environ- 
ment of  a  city  square.  Neither  would  one  expect 
nothing  but  stone-paved  footways,  and  series  of  balus- 
trades, steps,  and  columns.  The  way  which  would  com- 
mend itself  most  readily  to  sensible  people  would  be  the 
arrangement,  first  of  all,  of  considerable  level  stretches 
of  smooth,  green  turf,  with  groups  of  shrubs  and  trees, 
so  arranged  as  to  display  their  individual  charms  effect- 
ively, and  at  the  same  time  managing,  in  an  artful  com- 
bination, to  vaguely  suggest  some  such  appropriate  and 
beautiful  effect  as  that  of  a  copse  in  a  meadow  and  a 
lane  in  a  country  home. 

The  design  of  a  city  square  should  also,  invariably, 
take  into  consideration  the  practical  features  that  will  be 
required  to  protect  the  greensward  and  shrubs,  and  afford 
convenient  accommodations  for  promenades  and  play- 
ing grounds.  Boundary  fences,  if  not  fences  along  the 
paths,  are  absolute  necessities  on  squares  in  crowded 
districts,  and  where  only  their  presence  will  preserve,, 
for  any  considerable  time,  the  beauty  of  the  park.  This 
is  averred  with  full  realization  of  the  efficiency  of  the 
police  under  a  good  government.  When  we  accept  the 


236    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 


SMALL  PARK  OF  FOUR  ACRES  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN.     (MULBERRY  BEND 
PARK,   FIVE  POINTS,   N.  Y.) 

fence,  however,  we  need  not  necessarily  include  its  hard, 
disagreeable  lines,  because  they  may  often  be  shrouded 
with  vines  like  honeysuckles  or  Virginia  creepers. 
So  much  space  is  needed  in  a  small  city  square  for  the 


CITY  AND  VILLAGE  SQUARES          237 

convenience  and  enjoyment  of  the  public,  that  we  will  find 
ourselves  limited  more  than  we  would  like  to  be,  when 
we  are  seeking  to  make  the  park  as  beautiful  and  pict- 
uresque as  it  is  in  the  power  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines 
to  make  it.  Hence  the  reason  why  the  allotment  for 
amusement  should  be  kept  as  much  as  possible  together 
in  one  spot  with  only  grass  directly  around,  and  the 
shrubs  and  flowers  fenced  in  on  the  boundaries,  or  on 
one  side,  so  that  they  may  escape  the  inevitable  destruc- 
tion that  is  sure  to  come  when  in  too  close  proximity 
to  large  crowds  of  young  and  old  people.  A  convenient 
outlet  for  the  high  spirits  of  young  folks  may  be  secured 
in  conveniently  arranged  play-grounds,  where  there  shall 
be  no  attempt  to  create  a  genuine  park,  but  simply  a 
play-ground  with  the  tree  and  shrub  element  almost  en- 
tirely left  out.  It  is  possible,  with  proper  care-takers, 
to  arrange  sand-pits  for  the  amusement  of  little  ones  in 
ordinary  city  squares,  but  for  play-grounds  for  half- 
grown  boys  an  isolated  area  devoted  entirely  to  the  one 
purpose  of  games  is  naturally  set  apart. 

To  village  squares  the  danger  of  destruction  attend- 
ant on  the  presence  of  crowds  does  not  apply  with  the 
same  force,  although  it  may  be  doubted  whether  even 
there  trees,  shrubs,  and  grass  would  not  be  benefited  by 
the  protection  of  a  fence  of  some  kind.  However,  sim- 
plicity and  openness  are  attributes  that,  in  a  village 
square,  or  green,  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  A  piece  of 
greensward,  with  a  few  spreading  umbrageous  trees,  will 
make  an  ideal  village  green,  if  the  trees  are  set  far 
enough  apart,  fifty  feet  or  more,  to  give  them  plenty  of 
chance  to  properly  develop.  When  the  village  green 
needs  protection  of  some  sort,  a  very  low  stone  wall,  cov- 
ered with  vines,  will  make  an  attractive  boundary,  or  a 


238    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

wire  fence  may  be  used,  and  covered  in  the  same 
way. 

The  ornamentation  of  village  greens  with  classic  foun- 
tains, statues,  and  memorial  shafts  is,  we  may  be  allowed 
to  say,  with  all  due  respect  to  the  benevolent  and  patriotic 
motives  that  frequently  inspire  their  erection,  to  be  gen- 
erally deprecated.  While  one  would  not  exactly  select 
a  pool  or  stream  for  the  artificial  ornamentation  of  a 
more  or  less  formal  village  green,  yet  it  may  readily 
come  to  exist  naturally  in  a  square,  in  which  case  a 
fountain  basin  would  be  in  order,  provided  no  elaborate- 
looking  designs  hi  marble  or  bronze  are  used,  but  if 
fountains  must  be  used,  much  rather  should  one  employ 
the  beautiful  single  spray  of  crystalline  water,  or  a 
cluster  of  sprays  like  those  to  be  seen  in  the  contrivance 
known  as  the  geyser  fountain. 

With  the  improvement  of  village  greens  should  go  the 
proper  shade  and  adornment  of  the  highway  bordering  it. 
It  is  best,  as  I  have  stated,  that  shade  trees  should  be 
set  out  at  intervals  of  fifty  feet,  and  the  dwelling-houses 
should  be  set  back  as  far  from  the  road  as  circumstances 
will  permit,  so  as  to  further  extend  the  openness  of  the 
territory. 

On  a  village  green,  paths  should  be  few  in  number, 
open  space  or  spaces  should  be  left  for  seats  and  the 
gathering  of  people,  and,  above  all  things,  plenty  of  shade 
should  be  fostered.  Straight  walks  are  admissible,  if 
not  often  advisable,  only  they  should  not  make  acute 
angles  with  each  other,  to  the  destruction  of  beauty  and 
vegetation,  but  where  a  long  curve  can  be  given  to  a 
path,  without  appreciably  detracting  from  its  directness, 
it  is  better  to  employ  it,  and  its  effect  is  sure  to  be  most 
attractive. 


CITY  AND  VILLAGE  SQUARES          239 

On  a  village  green,  rock-work  seems  specially  out  of 
place,  although  if  a  great  natural  boulder  is  found 
within  its  confines,  it  would  be  well  to  keep  it,  but  a  heap 
of  stones  we  need  view  only  as  rubbish  that  should  be 
carted  away. 


RAILROAD  STATION  GROUNDS 

THERE  are,  we  are  forced  to  remember,  many 
meeting  places  in  life  where  the  accidents  of 
travel,  or  the  natural  delays  of  miscalculated 
time,  oblige  people  to  linger  in  a  frame  of  mind  that  is 
almost  preter naturally  disposed  to  complain  of  surround- 
ings that  appear  doubly  uninteresting,  for  the  reason 
that  their  contemplation  is  forced  and  compulsory ;  and 
it  is  highly  probable  that  the  precision,  promptitude,  and 
rapidity  of  action  generally  associated  with  a  railroad 
will  account  somewhat  for  the  special  sense  of  boredom 
with  which  a  long  wait  at  a  railroad  station  is  generally 
contemplated. 

In  view  of  this  natural  condition  of  the  waiting  public 
at  railroad  stations,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  minds  of 
railroad  managers  have  been  turned  for  a  long  time 
toward  the  development  of  the  convenience  and  attract- 
iveness of  all  railway  stopping-places,  for  the  contem- 
plation of  a  weedy,  cinder-strewn  yard,  and  a  gullied 
bank  with  a  freight-car  or  two  standing  on  the  rails,  does 
certainly  not  conduce  to  cheerfulness  of  soul  or  resig- 
nation to  enforced  delay. 

Recognizing  that  money  expended  in  such  improve- 
ments will  be  always  profitable,  many,  if  not  most  rail- 


RAILROAD  STATION  GROUNDS         241 

roads,  have  expended  increasingly  large  sums  of  money, 
year  after  year,  in  building  handsome  stations,  with  con- 
venient roads  of  approach,  and  more  or  less  satisfactory 
plant  decoration;  but,  unfortunately  here,  as  in  other 
cases  of  park  and  garden  undertakings,  the  excellence 
and  artistic  value  of  the  plant-work  seems  to  lag  sadly 
behind  that  of  the  architecture.  The  best  architects  in 
the  country  have  long  been  accustomed  to  put  forth, 
under  the  spur  of  competition,  their  best  efforts  to  de- 
sign the  most  convenient  and  beautiful  station  buildings, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  with  very  few  exceptions,  the 
decoration  of  the  grounds  around  railroad  stations,  if 
attended  to  at  all,  has  been  left  to  be  developed  by  skill 
that  cannot  be  said  to  be  either  artistic  or  comprehen- 
sive in  its  scope. 

There  have  been,  without  doubt,  notable  improvements 
in  this  respect  accomplished  during  the  last  few  years, 
an  excellent  illustration  of  which  may  be  seen  on  the 
Boston  and  Albany  road,  but  it  still  remains,  unfortu- 
nately, the  practice  on  most  roads  to  set  out  a  few 
coleuses,  geraniums,  and  cannas,  and  there  f  epl  that  the 
necessity  of  the  occasion  stops ;  whereas  it  must  become 
evident  to  those  who  will  give  due  consideration  to  the 
subject  that  in  the  scheme  of  such  improvements  the 
geranium  type  of  plant  should  usually  take  a  small,  and 
never  a  dominant,  part.  Indeed,  it  would  seem  natural, 
when  we  come  to  consider  it,  to  arrange  station  grounds 
in  the  same  comprehensive  way  that  we  would  our  small 
parks  or  private  grounds,  for  all  would  concede  that  home 
comforts  and  attractions  would  prove  specially  agreeable 
and  solacing,  both  inside  and  outside  the  station. 

In  following  out,  therefore,  this  idea,  we  would  have, 
above  all,  in  such  grounds,  permanent  plantations  of  trees 
16 


242    HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

and  shrubs,  properly  arranged  with  regard  to  a  park-like 
effect.  There  might  be  bits  of  color  introduced  by  the 
use  of  bedding,  but  the  dominant  and  permanent  idea 
would  be  arboreal,  and  fitted  for  enjoyment  all  the  year 
round.  It  is  a  little  strange  that  a  wider  view  of  the 
subject  has  not  been  more  generally  entertained,  and 
designs  worked  out  for  stations  that  will  include  all  the 
possible  beauties  of  the  park  and  lawn,  whether  trees  and 
shrubs,  evergreen  and  deciduous,  or  herbaceous,  and  bed- 
ding-plants. Plant  for  plant,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
average  cost  of  these  different  kinds  of  material  does  not 
seriously  differ;  that  is,  many  of  the  best  shrubs  and 
trees  can  be  bought  as  cheaply  as  cannas  and  geraniums, 
and  the  trees  and  shrubs  need  no  replacing  year  after 
year,  as  the  cannas  and  geraniums  do.  This  would  evi- 
dently reduce  the  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  station 
grounds  greatly,  as  compared  with  the  expense  of  an  ex- 
clusive system,  carried  out  yearly,  of  decoration  with 
only  bedding-plants. 

It  seems  to  the  author  that  an  important  reason  why 
we  do  not  find  better  systems  established  everywhere  in 
the  improvement  of  station  grounds  is  because  there  is 
generally  a  lack  of  method  in  formulating  the  designs 
that  are  to  be  used.  If  a  station  is  to  be  built,  an 
architect  always  prepares  a  plan  for  it,  but  in  the  case 
of  the  grounds,  this  is  usually  done  by  any  one,  and 
consequently  a  haphazard  and  more  or  less  inharmonious 
result  is  pretty  sure  to  follow. 

It  is  certain  that  if  a  plan  of  walks,  roads,  turns  for 
carriages,  and  open  bits  of  lawn,  with  plantations  of  trees, 
shrubs,  and  flowers,  were  always  prepared  beforehand, 
greater  beauty  of  park-like  effect  would  result,  and  dur- 
ing a  considerable  period  of  years,  on  account  of  the 


RAILROAD  STATION  GROUNDS         243 

lack  of  necessity  for  changes  in  a  well-thought-out  de- 
sign, there  would  be  much  less,  instead  of  greater, 
expense. 

Let  us  turn,  in  further  consideration  of  the  subject,  to 
the  accompanying  plan  of  a  station  on  one  of  the  main 
railroad  lines  of  the  country,  and  see  how  some  of  the 
details  of  the  work  should  be  carried  out.  It  will  be 
readily  seen  that  the  stopping-place  in  question  is  one  of 
considerable  importance,  and  should,  therefore,  furnish 
abundant  open  graveled  space  for  the  rapid  gathering 


TREATMENT  OP  RAILROAD  STATION  GROUNDS 

and  leaving  of  carriages  and  other  vehicles.  In  the 
center,  in  front  of  the  station  door,  however,  there  has 
been  designed,  in  order  to  relieve  the  general  bareness 
of  the  open  graveled  space,  an  oval  or  oblong  lawn  of 
eighty  feet  in  diameter,  in  which  a  fountain  basin  is 
located  of  unassuming  character,  having  no  sculpturesque 
accessories,  but  simply  an  abundant  spray  of  water.  In 
this  basin  a  few  water-lilies  are  to  be  grown,  and  around 
its  outer  edge  a  small  grouping  of  brilliant-looking 
bedding-plants,  acalyphas,  geraniums,  and  alternantheras, 
is  arranged  in  varied  and  well-contrasted  masses.  This 
is  intended  to  be  the  only  bit  of  brilliant  leaf-color  made 


244  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

by  bedding-plants  to  be  found  on  the  place,  and  as  it 
adjoins  the  formal  lines  of  the  fountain  basin,  it  is  in 
entirely  good  taste,  and,  from  its  limited  size,  compara- 
tively inexpensive.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is,  perhaps, 
the  least  important  feature  of  the  place,  and  would  be 
missed  less  on  account  of  its  ephemeral  character  than 
either  the  grass,  the  trees,  and  shrubs,  or  the  water  of 
the  fountain.  On  each  side  of  the  station,  and  border- 
ing the  railroad,  considerable  areas  of  green  lawn  ex- 
tend for  about  one  hundred  feet  either  way,  giving  space 
for  an  abundant  display  of  grass,  the  most  inviting  object 
the  eye  can  rest  on  at  a  railroad  stopping-place. 

On  the  borders  of  the  lawn  are  disposed,  in  irregular 
groups,  with  a  few  trees  intermingled,  various  hardy 
and  vigorous  deciduous  shrubs,  that  afford  attractive 
leaves  and  beautiful  flowers  at  various  seasons  of  the 
year,  according  to  the  habits  of  the  different  kinds,  which 
include  dogwoods,  viburnums,  spiraea  opulifolia,  S.  thun- 
bergii,  philadelphuses,  privet  ibota,  forsythias,  berber- 
ries, bush  honeysuckles,  and  the  Japan  rose,  rosa  rugosa. 

The  deciduous  trees  consist  of  such  kinds  as  elms,  lin- 
dens, maples,  tulips,  American  ashes,  and  Oriental  plane 
trees,  and  are  planted  fifty  feet  apart,  so  as  to  give  them 
a  park-like  effect.  In  this  way  a  varied  effect  of  bark, 
branches,  and  foliage  is  obtained  throughout  nearly  the 
whole  year. 

The  writer  desires  to  point  out  that  one  feature  which 
usually  accompanies  the  railroad  station,  and  that  does 
not  happen  to  exist  in  the  plan  we  have  been  considering, 
is  the  steep  slope  or  bank  that  is  frequently  made  by  a 
railroad  cut  in  the  front  or  back  of  the  station.  Such 
a  place  affords  a  most  excellent  opportunity  to  plant  out 
a  woody-looking  growth,  in  every  way  natural,  of  run- 


RAILROAD  STATION  GROUNDS         245 

ning  vines  like  honeysuckles,  roses,  etc.,  and  low  shrubs 
with  interesting  foliage.  On  some  banks  larger  shrubs 
like  dogwoods,  and  small  trees  like  birches,  may  be  used 
with  excellent  effect,  and  make  a  most  favorable  exhibi- 
tion of  their  charms,  which  could  hardly  find,  in  connec- 
tion with  low  shrubs  and  vines,  a  more  fortunate  position. 

Another  happy  accessory  of  such  places  would  be 
found  in  the  many  hardy  herbaceous  flowering  plants: 
lilies  of  the  valley,  violets,  phloxes,  irises,  etc.,  that 
could  be  planted  effectively  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood of  the  shrubberies,  and  in  this  way  colonies  of 
hardy,  permanent  flowers  could  be  established,  the 
bloom  of  which  would  afford  delight  to  lingering  pas- 
sengers during  nearly  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

There  need  be  scarcely  any  limit  to  the  variety  of 
chances  to  use  trees  properly  without  injuring  the  shrubs 
associated  with  them,  and  without  producing  too  much 
shade  to  be  agreeable  for  the  occupants  of  the  station. 
For  the  purpose  of  improving  the  station  grounds,  a  few 
specimens  of  white  pines  and  other  evergreens  may  be 
used,  but  it  is  not  wise  to  undertake  to  employ  many 
evergreens,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they  are  specially 
liable  to  injury  by  storms  and  insects  and  variation  of 
temperature,  from  the  effects  of  which  they  are  slow  to 
recover.  Two  or  three  paths  are  arranged  to  wind  about 
these  park-like  areas,  and  at  their  junctions,  or  ends,  it 
is  intended  that  seats  shall  be  placed  to  permit  the  pas- 
senger to  further  relieve  his  hours  of  enforced  leisure. 
Wherever  fences  are  necessary  for  safety,  they  are  to  be 
made  of  solid  wire,  or  iron,  in  some  form,  and  covered 
with  the  most  attractive  climbers :  clematis  paniculata ; 
ampelopsis  quinquefolia,  Virginia  creeper,  and  lonicera 
halleana,  Japan  honeysuckle,  and  the  same  vines  with 


246  HOW  TO  PLAN  THE  HOME  GROUNDS 

the  Japan  ivy,  ampelopsis  tricuspidata,  should  be  planted 
so  as  to  cover  a  large  portion  of  the  walls  of  the  station. 
The  importance  of  the  maintenance  of  the  improve- 
ments of  the  grounds  of  the  railroad  station  should  not  be 
overlooked,  although  it  need  not  be  made  more  onerous 
than  the  painting  and  cleaning  of  the  interior  of  the 
station.  If  an  emulation  and  love  for  helping  the  plants 
to  thrive  can  be  developed  among  the  station  agents  and 
other  employees  that  have  to  do  with  them,  the  extent 
to  which  the  beauty  of  station  grounds  may  be  improved 
can  hardly  be  estimated  or  realized.  In  proof  of  this 
statement  it  is  only  necessary  to  take  the  trouble  to  look 
at  the  little  door-yards  of  the  cottages  of  the  working- 
men,  both  in  England  and  America,  where  a  rivalry  and 
enthusiasm  have  sprung  up  for  horticultural  improvements 
of  all  kinds. 


INDEX 


American  trees  and  shrubs,  107. 
Aquatic  plants,   best  method  of 

growing,  138. 
Aquatic  plants,  best  location  of, 

140. 


B 


Bedding  plants,  proper  location  of 
beds  of,  146. 

Bedding  plants,  skyline  of,  149. 

Bedding  plants,  special  arrange- 
ment of  individual,  147, 148. 

Bedding  plants,  value  of,  145. 

Breezes,  11. 

Bridges,  location  of,  192,  193. 


Church-yards,  inharmonious  plants 

in,  227. 
Church-yards,  use  of  fences  and 

walls  in,  226. 
Church-yards,  use  of  trees  in,  225, 

226. 

Church-yards,  use  of  shrubs  in,  226. 
Church-yards,  use  of  vines  in,  227. 
Church-yards,  value  of  greensward 

for,  225. 
Cemeteries,  waning  taste  for  showy 

tombstones  and  monuments  in, 

228. 


Cemeteries,  park-like    effects  in, 

228. 
Contour  map,  25. 


Drying-ground,  13. 


Evergreens,  best  method  of  trans- 
planting, 123. 

Evergreens,  difficulty  of  trans- 
planting, 123. 

Evergreens,  value  of,  121. 

P 

Fence,  picket,  188. 
Fence,  value  of,  187. 
Fence,  wire,  181. 
Foot-paths,  39. 
Front  door,  10,  11. 


Garden  beds,  61,  64,  65. 
Garden  boundaries,  61. 
Garden,  Colonial,  55,  56. 
Garden  flowers,  57,  58. 
Garden,  location  of,  57. 
Garden  propagating  houses,  59,  60. 
Garden,  relative  antiquity  of,  52, 
53. 


248 


INDEX 


Garden  walks,  61. 

Grades  of  territory,  177,  178. 

Grading  lawn,  48. 

Greens,  village,  fountains  for,  238. 

Greens,  village,  statues  for,  238. 


H 


Hedge  rows,  188,  189. 
Herbaceous  plants,   definition  of, 

129. 
Herbaceous  plants,  proper  location 

of,  130. 
Herbaceous  plants,  use  of  large 

colonies  of,  131,  132. 


Lawn,  fertilizing  of,  49. 

Lawn  mowing,  51. 

Lawn,  seaside,  choice  of  trees  and 

shrubs  for,  230. 
Lawn,  seaside,  rich  soil  for  top 

dressing,  229. 
Lawn,  seaside,  rocky,  231. 
Lawn,  seaside,  seeding,  229. 
Lawn,  seaside,  use  of  water  on, 

229,  231,  232. 
Lawn  seeding,  50,  51. 
Level  lots,  5,  176. 
Lodge,  location  of,  177. 


Parks,  improper  objects  of,  223. 

Parks,  principles  of  the  arrange- 
ment of,  219,  220. 

Parks,  proper  objects  of,  221. 

Parks,  resemblance  of  parkways 
to,  224. 

Parks,  suggestion  of  country  in, 
222. 

Plantations,  skyline  of,  82,  83. 

Planting,  best  method  of,  87,  88. 

Planting,  use  of  mold  for,  88. 

Plants,  best  method  of  using  bed- 
ding, 90,  91. 

Plants,  group  relations  of,  89,  90. 

Plants,  preparation  of  beds  for,  93. 


Plants,  proper  depth  for  setting 
out,  87. 

Plants,  proper  distance  apart  of, 
91,  92,  93. 

Plants,  proper  selection  of,  84,  85. 

Plants,  single  specimens  of,  80. 

Plants,  small  number  of  satisfac- 
tory, 80. 

Plants,  use  of  one  kind  of,  82. 

Pruning,  injurious  effects  of  bad, 
98,  99. 

R 

Railroad  stations,  encouragement 
of  employees  to  look  after 
grounds  of,  246. 

Railroad  stations,  hardy  trees, 
shrubs,  and  vines  for,  241. 

Railroad  stations,  need  of  planting 
plans  of,  242. 

Railroad  stations,  use  of  bedding 
plants  for,  241,  242,  243,  244. 

Rhododendrons,  hardy  kinds  of, 
127. 

Rhododendrons,  value  of  rich,  yel- 
low soil  for,  127. 

Road  construction,  28,  31. 

Road  cost,  26. 

Road  crown,  36. 

Road  curves,  25. 

Road  depth,  37. 

Road  drainage,  32,  33. 

Road  foundation,  36,  38. 

Road  grades,  27, 32. 

Road  gutters,  33,  34,  35. 

Road  limit,  24. 

Road  line,  19,  23,  25. 

Road  maintenance,  40,  41,  42. 

Road  rolling,  37,  38. 

Road  specifications,  31 

Road  turn,  24. 

Road  waste,  disposal  of,  37. 

Road  width,  35. 

Roads  of  gravel,  37. 

Roads,  shell,  39. 

Rock,  conservative  use  of,  173. 

Rock  copings,  168. 

Rock  foot  and  carriage  bridges. 
170,  171. 


INDEX 


249 


Rock  steps,  168. 
Rock,  water  against,  171. 
Rocks,  difficulty  of  setting,  166. 
Rocks,  principle  on  which  to  use 

more  or  less,  168. 
Rocks,  proper  grouping  of,  165, 

166. 

S 

Shrubs,  good  all-round,  116. 
Squares,   city,  limit  of  buildings 

for,  235. 
Squares,    city,    playgrounds    for, 

233,  237. 

Squares,  city,  protection  of,  235. 
Squares,  city,  sculpture  in,  238. 
Squares,  city,  simple  treatment  of, 

234,  235. 
Stables,  14, 15. 
Summer-houses,  182. 
Summer-houses,   construction    of, 

190. 

Summer-houses,  designing,  191. 
Summer-houses,  location  of,  192. 
Summer-houses,  use  of  vines  on, 

191. 


Terrace  decoration,  74. 
Terrace,  effect  of,  45,  67,  68,  69. 
Terrace  hedges,  74,  75. 
Terrace  limits,  73. 
Terrace  proportion,  77. 
Terrace  steps,  78. 
Terrace  turf,  75,  76. 
Terrace  walks,  69. 


Transplanting  large  trees,  8. 
Trees,  location  of,  47. 


Vines,  distance  apart,  180. 
Vines,  precaution    necessary    in 
training,  191,  192. 

W 

Walls,  privacy  of,  187. 

Walls,  stone  and  brick,  value  of, 

185. 

Walls,  treatment  of,  185,  186. 
Water,  difficulties  of  employment 

of,  151,  152. 
Water,  good   example  of  use  of, 

154,  157,  158. 
Water,  proper  use  of,  153. 
Water,  treatment  of  shores  of,' 

153. 

Woodlands,  8. 
Woods,  cleaning  up,  160. 
Woods,  cultivation  of,  161. 
Woods,  imitation  of  natural,  159, 

162,  163. 

Woods,  paths  in,  161. 
Woods,  pruning,  159,  160. 
Woods,    renewing    good   soil    in, 

160. 

Woods,  use  of  wild  flowers  in,  160. 
Woods,   uselessness    of    planting 

fresh  trees  in,  160. 
Woods,   value  of    mulching  with 

plenty  of  leaves  in,  161. 
Woods,  wandering  cattle  and,  161. 


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